Warring Desires (The Herod Chronicles Book 3)

by Wanda Ann Thomas

  Shoshana Ehud held a vinegar-soaked olive out on her palm for the sturdy, lead mule. “There you go, Rabbit. Keep the pack moving.”

  Rabbit bobbed his gray head, flicked long, tufted ears, and let out a whinny that ended in a forlorn haw.

  Shoshana glanced over her shoulder past the nine mules tethered to Rabbit, making sure the rest of the mule train was close behind. Legs wrapped tight around their mules, her fourteen-year-old nephew, Jacob, her grandfather, and Big Lev negotiated the rocky descent with practiced ease, a line of mules strung out behind each of them. But her ten-year-old nephew Isaac had yet to crest the ridge, continuing to lag behind, despite her pleas for him to keep up.

  “I hate this,” she whispered, glancing about for danger. The sooner they delivered the load of supplies to the besieged city of Jerusalem and headed home to Samaria, the less likely they would run into the patrols blockading the city.

  A lone, bruise-colored cloud covered the sun. She gripped the reins tighter, prepared to turn back. Then Isaac’s head came into view. He waved at her and flashed one of his easygoing smiles.

  She exhaled with relief.

  Shouts of distress came from the nearby hills to her left. She whipped around and her stomach clenched. Two men in colorful robes burst over a scrub-covered hill at a dead run, chased by a six-man band of robbers.

  She checked on her family. Young Isaac coaxed his mule and headed toward them at a fast trot. Forty fretful mules brayed and mingled, tangling their lines. She gripped the reins in one hand, and snatched the wooden club tied to Rabbit’s back.

  “The boys and I will watch the mules,” her grandfather shouted. “Big Lev, untie Shoshana from the pack.”

  Big Lev worked the rope with his large, gnarled hands. Finally, the knot slipped free and she urged Rabbit forward.

  The colorfully clad men spotted her, waved their arms, and ran faster. The shorter of the two tripped and fell. The taller man turned back. The bandits cheered and hollered, closing in on their prey. Robed in purple, the taller man dragged his red-clad companion to his feet.

  Her teeth jounced together thanks to the hopping gait that had earned Rabbit his name. She couldn’t go fast enough to suit her. Other mule train drivers who had run-ins with the bandits plaguing the area advised making a show of force as quickly as possible to ward off an attack.

  She squeezed her heels against the mule’s rounded sides, and the ride smoothed to a gliding gallop. A moment later, she pulled Rabbit to a stop between the robbers and their prey. She slid off Rabbit’s back and hefted her club. “Turn back,” she shouted at the bandits.

  The robbers slowed, and the colorfully clothed duo scrambled to her side, and the pounding of hooves behind assured her Big Lev was coming to her aid.

  Her heart thumped double-time while the robbers sized up the opposition.

  Beaten down by age, Big Lev and Grandfather rattled around in bodies too big for their withered muscles. Her nephews promised to grow into strapping men, but presently they were mostly legs and arms. And the pair responsible for this trouble? Her stomach twisted. The purple and red finery the strangers wore said they came from the ranks of the rich. The oldest couldn’t be more than thirty years of age. They were most likely pompous, pampered fools who would be no help in a fight.

  The robbers must have reached the same conclusion, for they kept advancing.

  Big Lev arrived in a swirl of dust and joined them, armed with a weathered club.

  She widened her stance. “We are meeting King Herod nearby,” she called out, emphasizing the word King, hoping the bandits were cleverer than their dull-faced appearances suggested.

  The purple-clad stranger edged closer to her. “How far away is Herod?” he asked breath heaving.

  “I lied,” she said and cringed.

  Amber eyes regarded her with wonder. Or perhaps it was astonishment.

  Palms sweaty, and already regretting the deception, she re-gripped the club and turned her attention back to the bandits. “Don’t come any closer!”

  The robbers paid no heed.

  “Mother of mercy,” the stranger complained and drew a gleaming sword from the folds of his plum-colored robe. Blessed with a lion-like mane of brown hair and a regal air, the stranger lifted the sword over his head.

  Shoshana grinned. The sword shifted the favor to them against the knives the bandits carried. The robbers halted, then turned and fled.

  She hugged her club.

  The purple-robed stranger lowered his sword and regarded her with kind eyes. “Do you always take such bold risks?”

  Her initial judgment had done him no justice. Though young, he appeared a capable man, even if he gripped his sword awkwardly “Only when rushing to the aid of young princes,” she said, purposely light-hearted.

  The bandits disappeared over the hill. The prince’s smile was beautiful as the heavens. “I don’t see any royalty about, including Herod.”

  Her face heated. “I abhor lies. But I didn’t know what else to do. I spouted the first believable threat that came to mind.”

  “That makes the danger you put yourself in for me and my brother twice as commendable. What are you doing out here with only old men and boys for company? Where’s your husband? Or are you married to one of the white-beards?”

  She squirmed inwardly, but forced herself to stand firm. She hadn’t lived under the same roof as her husband in seven years. But she wasn’t going to admit that miserable fact to the handsome prince.

  Big Lev interceded. “You should put your questions to Noach.”

  The prince’s younger brother joined them, brushing dirt from his wine-colored cloak. “Our aunt has a brother named Noach. He can play the lyre with his toes. I’ve heard him pluck out the notes of five different psalms.”

  Warming to the young man, Shoshana waved for them to follow. “Noach is my grandfather, and this is our hired man Big Lev. Come and I’ll introduce you to the others.”

  She led them to the milling pack of mules. “Grandfather, meet...Forgive me for not asking your names.”

  The prince waved away the apology. “My name is Gabriel. And this is Leonidas. We are on our way to join Herod’s army.”

  Grandfather circled a protective arm around her. “This is my dear granddaughter, Shoshana. I couldn’t get along without her.”

  Gabriel smiled. “Our day was on the brink of turning very unpleasant. The sight of your granddaughter and your mule train made me want to weep for joy.” His golden brown eyes lingered on her.

  Shoshana couldn’t remember ever feeling quite so self-conscious. “We could have just as easily needed your help if the bandits had found us first.”

  Gabriel glanced westward. “If you don’t mind, we will impose on you bit longer, by traveling with you to Herod’s camp.”

  Fear for her family flooded in. The goods they carried had been bought and paid for by Herod, but her greedy husband, John, had ordered them to deliver the supplies to the army opposing Herod. The scheme would have to be abandoned if Gabriel and Leonidas joined them. John wouldn’t be pleased, and was sure to come up with a diabolical punishment.

  Her grandfather, who wouldn’t dream of turning away a stranger in need, smiled kindly. “We count it an honor to escort you the rest of the way. Isn’t that so, granddaughter?”

  The sun beat hot on her head. Mules brayed to each other. Grit kicked up by the milling animals coated her teeth and tongue. She swallowed and examined Gabriel and Leonidas’s expensive, colorful robes. They were obviously out of their element. If her nephews were in trouble and sought help from strangers, she hoped someone would offer them aid and shelter. John was selfish and self-centered. That wasn’t her way. She took a deep breath. “We welcome your company.” Adding to the many lies she’d told that day.

  CHAPTER 5

  Surrounded by shrub-dotted hills and a vast blue sky, Gabriel helped Noach’s grandsons untangle the mules’ lead lines. The youngest limped in a circle around a mule. The boy’s left foot
curved inward, forcing him to walk on his ankle, but he went about his work without a word of complaint.

  Inspired by the stoic example, Gabriel gritted his teeth against the searing burn from the blister on his little toe and helped redistribute bags of grain among the mules.

  Two long-eared brown mules soon stood ready for Gabriel and Leonidas to ride.

  Shoshana paused beside them. “We are ready to go if you are.”

  Leonidas whooped with delight and scrambled onto the back of his beast.

  Gabriel frowned at the four-legged mule, which glared back balefully. Shoshana and her family’s kindness and graciousness toward total strangers continued to impress him, but at the moment Gabriel wished they were a bit less generous.

  “I’m sorry for the smell,” Shoshana said. “We groom the mules we ride, but the rest stink to high heaven.”

  Gabriel ran his hand over the mule’s dust-covered back. “I wasn’t turning my nose up at the smell. I’ve never ridden a mule. I was considering the best way to get on the animal without making a complete fool of myself.”

  Shoshana’s cinnamon-colored eyes sparkled. “Never?”

  He laughed. “I haven’t traveled far outside of Jerusalem. Even then I used rented carriages.”

  “It’s not difficult.” She fisted her hands into her mule’s black-tufted mane and threw her legs over its wide back. “See...there’s nothing to it. You’re tall. That makes it even easier.”

  Gabriel had never come across a woman quite like Shoshana, one who spoke freely with men who were not of her immediate family, one endowed with bold confidence to spare, one who acted with the bravery of a man. When she’d charged to his rescue, with her dark, russet-brown hair flying behind her, leapt from her mule, and brandished her club at the bandits, he wondered if he’d stumbled upon one of the mythical Amazon women of Greek lore.

  Lithe of body, with a sprinkle of light brown freckles showing beneath her perfect complexion, she exuded a wild, breath-stealing beauty.

  More intrigued than ever, he wanted to ask the whereabouts of her husband, but her uncomfortable reaction had made it clear she didn’t want to speak of him.

  He shifted his attention to the mule. “Behave yourself, Beelzebub.”

  Shoshana laughed. “We call him King Ahab, because he always insists on racing to the front of the pack.”

  Unable to stall any longer, Gabriel dug his fingers into the wiry mane and scrambled onto Ahab. His feet hung below the mule’s belly. “I feel as if I should be carrying Ahab instead of the other way around.”

  “Mules are hardier than they look,” Shoshana said, coaxing her mule forward. The ten mules trailing behind her hawed triumphantly at Ahab.

  Ahab bolted ahead, almost bumping Gabriel off.

  Reins clutched in a death grip, Gabriel pulled until Ahab slowed to a walk. “At least I don’t have far to fall,” he muttered.

  Shoshana guided them down a rocky slope. Dust swirled up around men and beasts. The muleteers pulled scarves over their mouths and noses. Shoshana donned a veil woven with dark reds and oranges, making her copper-hued hair that much more appealing.

  He glanced down at his purple robe and wrinkled his nose. His and Leonidas’s silky garments stood out from the muleteers’ sturdy brown tunics like showy spring flowers erupting amid a fallow field.

  Ahab tossed his head, eager to race ahead, but Gabriel reined in the animal and studied Shoshana. Sitting tall on her mule, she scanned ahead and behind, on the alert for danger, her dark hair bouncing over graceful shoulders.

  He cleared his throat and forced his eyes away from the fascinating woman. But his resolution to ignore her didn’t last long.

  She and old Noach conferred for a long time, glancing back at him and Leonidas, clearly on edge.

  Shoshana’s nephews led their string of mules past Gabriel with wary looks.

  Ahab snorted his displeasure and sped up.

  Gabriel slipped to the side, grabbed a handful of mane, and dragged himself upright. “Whoa down beast!” He wrestled Ahab to a stop. “Mother of mercy, mule, I’m the one in charge, not you.”

  Ahab swung his head around and nipped his large mule teeth in the direction of Gabriel’s knee. Gabriel pulled his leg back and scowled at the mule. “Noach’s family seemed friendly enough, but I’m beginning to think they mean to use you to kill me.”

  Ahab hawed a complaint and trudged on.

  Leonidas came up alongside Gabriel. “This is absolutely grand.”

  “I’m glad somebody’s enjoying themselves.”

  “We should purchases horses. They’d be twice as splendid as mules.

  “Horses? We’ll do well if we don’t break our necks before arriving at Herod’s camp.”

  Leonidas scratched his docile mule behind the ears. “Joining the mule train is a blessing. We ought to be able to slip by the sentries posted around Herod’s army unnoticed.”

  “How you manage to see the bright side of disasters large and small is confounding. But I knew there was a reason I allowed you to come along.”

  “And here I thought it was because of my masterful powers of persuasion.”

  “Thick-headed stubbornness is more like it,” Gabriel said, then sobered. “You’re good company, brother, but I won’t forgive myself if anything happens to you.”

  Leonidas patted the hilt of his dagger and stared into the distance. “The truth is I’ve had a fascination with army life and soldiers for as long as I can remember. I want to be here.”

  “You’re just confessing this now?”

  Leonidas shrugged. “I was waiting for a good time to speak to Father.”

  His brother’s unruly hair and patchy beard matched his worrisome, reckless spirit. His parents hoped Leonidas would become a student of the Law. “There was never going to be a good time to break that sort of news.”

  His brother’s brilliant smile blinded. “I was waiting for Andrew to do something reckless to soften father up. I never guessed my perfect eldest brother would be the foolish one.”

  “Glad to help,” Gabriel said dryly. He spied Shoshana glancing uneasily at him again. “Have you noticed the family acting strangely or suspiciously?”

  “I thought they were looking askance at you trying to keep your seat on the mule.”

  Gabriel shot his brother a dirty look. “Something has them on edge.”

  Leonidas’s smile faded. “Maybe they are worried about running into more bandits.

  “I’m going to have a talk with Shoshana’s nephews. See what you can learn from Big Lev.”

  Leonidas drew his mule to a stop to wait for the tall, gaunt man.

  Gabriel nudged Ahab. The devilish beast took it as license to charge ahead. Bridle jangling with each bumpy step, Gabriel guided Ahab to the youngest boy. A youth of about twelve or thirteen, with a round face and a ready smile, Isaac handled the eight mules entrusted to him as competently as his older brother, despite his lame foot.

  Isaac held out an apple on the palm of his hand. Ahab slowed to a walk, swept the treat up with his long snout, and munched contentedly away.

  Gabriel smiled his thanks. “Have you made many trips to Herod’s camp?”

  Isaac regarded him with undisguised curiosity. “Can you read?”

  Surprised, Gabriel laughed. “I can. Why do you ask?”

  “I want to learn, but Jacob said I am dumb as a goat. And I said he was ugly as a buzzard. And Jacob said learning to read would be way, way, way difficult.”

  “Are you willing to work hard?” Gabriel asked.

  Isaac nodded with vigor.

  “You are able-minded. I don’t see why you can’t learn.”

  “Aunt Shosha is putting aside what coins she can to hire a tutor. But I’m going to find someone to teach me in exchange for work.”

  Gabriel admired the boy’s courage. Isaac’s life would be much easier if he could make his living by his wits rather than manual labor. “I would like to help.”

  “Aunt Shosha wo
n’t accept charity.”

  “I’ll speak to your grandfather.”

  The boy leaned toward Gabriel. “Grandfather feels terrible about the crooked contract he signed. That’s why I want to read. So no one can cheat us again.”

  Gabriel hated that the family had been taken advantage of. “How long ago did this happen?”

  “Way, way before I was born.”

  “Aunt Shosha will switch your backside when she learns you are talking about her troubles,” Jacob called over his shoulder, glaring at his younger brother.

  Isaac rolled his eyes. “Aunt Shosha never hits us.” The boy shot Gabriel a sheepish look. “My aunt doesn’t yell or hit. She stares real hard until you squirm.”

  Gabriel tousled the boy’s straight hair. “I’ll be sure to not rile her.” Then he coaxed Ahab ahead to Jacob’s side.

  Thin-faced, with a protruding, hooked nose, Jacob eyed Gabriel with narrowed eyes. “You hold your sword like a girl.”

  Gabriel winced, and moved sword-wielding lessons to the top of his priority list. “Is that so?”

  “My aunt saved your life.”

  Pride complaining, Gabriel nodded. “She did. I’m very grateful, and I wouldn’t dream of doing anything to harm her, or any of you.”

  “If you did, I would come after you when I grow to be a man.”

  “How old are you?”

  Jacob’s shoulders fell. “Fourteen. Everyone says I look just like my father, and that I will grow to be as strong and rugged as he was before he got sick and died.”

  Gabriel hurt for the boy, understanding the sense of responsibility that came with being the oldest son. Jacob had the added strain of being an orphan, so he must act as brother and father to Isaac. “Your aunt is blessed to have you for a nephew.”

  “We are a burden to her now. But I’ll make it up to her. She will have nice clothes and a real house. And she won’t have to work so hard.”

  The size of the reward Gabriel planned to give the family kept increasing. “What would it cost to hire more help?” The man they called Big Lev appeared almost as old as the grandfather.

  Jacob sealed his lips and turned his head away.