Legacy
Isaac worked the muscles in his neck. Book study often did that to him – gave him a stiff neck. He was more an outside person, he liked to do things. Book study was important however, so he didn’t grudge the protesting ache in his neck.
His
eyes felt sore so he looked up, letting them relax by admiring the view beyond
the doorway of this upper floor. A new
Legacy house. Another new Legacy
house. Elias was still his
Precept. Isaac was still only a member,
but this was a new town.
As
he gazed out over the collection of simple white dwellings, his mind turned
back five years to the night the assassins had simply melted away.
He
and Elias had quit the town and hurried home and Elias had sent Isaac on to the
Beersheba house with a message. Eli,
the Precept there, had read it, reacted, and all but emptied his house to deal
with this threat. At that time, Isaac
had been none the wiser as to why so many returned with him or what the threat
was. Isaac had not been present in the
workshop when Eli had made his famous speech.
The next morning, Eli and Elias, and the entire Legacy contingent had
gone into the street, resolved to gather up all the people with the telltale
white streak in their hair .. only to discover they’d disappeared during the
night. Houses were left open,
businesses abandoned. Like shades of
men ...
Eli,
of course, had decided it was because he’d made that speech. It had put the fear of God into them. Isaac wasn’t so sure. After they’d returned from the town and Eli
had gone on to Beersheba, Isaac had asked Elias what he thought and what had
been the terrible danger? An old man
and a girl. Some threat. But nothing had happened. Nothing had come of it.
Elias
had explained about the white streak.
And he then confessed that maybe he’d gotten it wrong. He’d read the warning, put it with Isaac’s
vision, and leaped to a possible conclusion.
The threats .. well, they’d been to go away, leave town, leave us alone,
we don’t want you here, we don’t want to hurt you. What had alarmed him more was the fact that they knew about the
Legacy. And no answers had ever been
given. Eli, upon learning this, had
leaped to another conclusion. Evil had
told them. Evil was everywhere, spying
on everything they did. Eli was a good
man but rash in his decisions.
As
time had passed, Elias had come to a different and far more reasonable
conclusion, and he wished desperately that he’d handled the first meeting a lot
better. They knew about the Legacy
because Enoch had told them. It was
obvious. Disturbed in his work, and
working feverishly to understand the esoteric writing on the gully wall before
the demon appeared, Enoch had let slip the secret. Thinking back, Elias remembered the girl and her brother had
tried to warn Enoch, to help him. And
that they were the ones who’d dug his grave and buried him. He revised all his initial assumptions and,
having thought long and hard, came to the conclusion that the girl, her
brother, the old man, all the others who’d threatened them had been trying to
tell them that they’d been misjudged, and there was no reason for Elias and
Isaac, in their capacity as Legacy members, to be there. And that rather suggested that they were on
the same side.
Of
course, that had never been confirmed because, from that day since, the white
haired people – as Elias had come to call them – had vanished from the
world. Not one had ever been seen
anywhere. Eli and his house had scoured
the streets of Beersheba – nothing. The
Legacy had been put on alert for them – and nothing had happened. With time, Eli declared the menace
over. He had scared them off.
Isaac
had listened to Elias’ thoughts on the subject and had come to agree. He was still suspicious of strangers but the
actions he’d seen the white haired people take had not been menacing. The words had been, yes, but not the
actions. They had spoken of a
people almost desperate to be understood.
Eli had destroyed that chance.
Isaac
and Elias had moved on and moved farther away from Eli and his hasty
influence. They kept a watch for the
white haired people, if only so they could make amends, but they’d never seen
them. It hadn’t stopped either man
wondering where they’d gone, why they’d left so suddenly.
“Given
up so soon?” Elias smiled as he came in.
“Resting
my eyes,” Isaac replied. “And
thinking.”
“Thought
is just as important as study. Simply
reading a text does not impart knowledge.
It is the thought which occurs as a result of study which makes us remember.” Elias watched him. “But you are not thinking about the text, are you?”
“No,”
Isaac grinned. “I am thinking .. why
did they abandon everything and leave?
And where did they go? It’s been
five years, Elias, yet not a whisper have we heard.”
“You
didn’t hear Eli in the workshop. If I
had been on the other end of those words, I rather think I would have abandoned
everything and go wherever I could hide from him.”
Isaac
shook his head. “We lost a chance. I blame myself.”
“Why?”
Elias frowned.
“Because
I was impetuous. I said they were
guilty of murder. You were the
one who said maybe they were innocent.
They were.”
“We
have never discovered why they were in the desert at the same time as
Enoch. Why they were in the demon’s
killing ground.”
Isaac
slowly sat back. This was an area they
hadn’t discussed before.
“I
found no trace of the demon, yet it had been there. The girl didn’t say the demon killed Enoch but it’s a reasonable
assumption.”
“Yes,
I recall suggesting it to you at the time.”
Isaac
accepted that. “So .. were they there
.. not to worship it but to fight it?”
“If
that is the case, they killed it,” Elias responded.
“They
could have been our friends, Elias. Our
allies. And we went in so sure
of ourselves that we pushed them away.
What fools we’ve been!”
Elias
sighed. “Time heals old wounds,
Isaac. One day, we will be able to say
we’re sorry. Maybe we can still become
friends.”
“Not
if Eli ever finds out,” Isaac snorted.
“Then
we shall not make the same mistake twice,” Elias declared. “Next time .. we don’t tell him. Now, you have lost the mood for study. Go outside, enjoy the fresh air. Walk off your disappointment.”
It
was good advice. The day was hot but
there was a keen breeze coming in from the desert and it carried that strange,
dry odor – the smell of vast, open places and baked rock.
“I
will not be gone long,” Isaac promised.
“I told Simon I’d have this ready for tomorrow and I will.”
Elias
watched him go and he smiled fondly.
“Even if you have to work all night to do it,” he remarked softly. “I knew, when I first saw you, that you’d
understand .. and I was right.”
He
went thru that room to a darker one beyond.
Messengers had arrived earlier and he had to read the scrolls they’d
delivered. The first was simply a
letter from an old friend who’d been with Elias in the Beersheba house. He had since moved north to Damascus to
found a Legacy house there. The second
scroll made Elias sit up in wonder, relief and a little unease. Eli was transferring from Beersheba to a
place beyond the Hellespont. A place
called Athens. It had been decided – by
whom, Elias didn’t know – that the Legacy, now a decade old, required a ruling
house .. and Eli was to be at its head. Eli was a good man and he did have the Legacy’s best interests at
heart. He did live the mission. But .. he was impatient. Elias was amazed at Eli’s rise to authority,
relieved he was moving so far away and uneasy about the Legacy’s future
direction. Why Athens? It was so distant. Here, there were cities like Jerusalem and Damascus,
Babylon. Athens was, by all accounts, a
big village, mostly pastoral. The
people there worshipped different gods.
It made sense in a very limited way.
Elias
turned back to his news. The Beersheba
house was closing and its members moving to Jerusalem. Benjamin, a member of Eli’s team, was being
promoted to Precept and was overseeing the move.
We
are spreading so fast now, Elias considered.
Athens, Carchemish, Damascus, Jerusalem … They speak of a house in Babylon and Nineveh, and expansion
east. They are all big cities .. apart
from Athens but that won’t be long. We
are moving out of towns. This new house
of mine .. is already obsolete.
He
leaned back to rest his spine against the wall. If I could have my desire, I would go back to Egypt. That land is so old that it makes me feel
young. I would open a Legacy house in
Thebes or Luxor. There are mysteries
there to occupy us for years … Elias
smiled gently, almost wryly. Perhaps I
should suggest it to the .. ruling house.
And,
if they do decide to open a house in Babylon, Isaac would be a good choice for
Precept. He has calmed a lot in these
five years, become more tolerant. Still
suspicious but, now, for the right reasons.
His is a deep mind. I will be
sad to see him go …
*****
Isaac
walked slowly, strolling more than walking.
He wanted to go faster but he was exerting discipline. Life was always a bustle, always something
was waiting for him, either to do or to look at. Strolling, he’d learned, broke the habit, refreshed his mind and
gave him more energy. Strolling at his
leisure forced his active mind to slow down as well. This town was small, so there was no need to hurry.
Isaac
strolled to the edge of town and looked out at the desert. In the distance, dark red mountains rose
into the bleached sky, their flanks looking like they ran with blood. He stared at them, at their stark beauty,
and felt his heart move with quiet joy.
Some men, he’d heard, went to look at the sea when they needed to lift
their spirits, but Isaac found peace with the mountains and the desert.
He
turned, idly remembering Simon and the task he’d promised to finish by
tomorrow, and gently began to stroll back to his work. The heat was a hammer and not many were out
in it, but a few hardy souls, such as Isaac, went about their business. One of them jostled a memory and he frowned. At any other time, Isaac might not have
remarked upon it but these memories were still close to the surface of his
thoughts. It was the way the ewer was
balanced on one hip …
For
a matter of seconds, Isaac began to hurry, to approach, but then he held back,
reining in the surge of anticipation and hope.
He idly followed to see where she went. Slowly, the few dwindled to fewer and Isaac dropped even farther
back. The girl didn’t change her pace
until she disappeared around a corner.
Isaac took three hasty steps, broke into a run because he was afraid
he’d lose her, halted as he neared the corner and peered around it, only to
find she was waiting for him.
Their
eyes met. Isaac held his breath then
released it on a sigh. The girl, or
young woman, frowned slightly.
“I’m
sorry. Forgive me. I thought you were someone I’d met once,”
Isaac said, bowing his head. “I was not
following with any ill will, I assure you.”
“And,
if I had been here .. what would you have done?” the girl challenged in
a bold voice.
“I
would have apologized,” he answered.
“Five years ago and in another place .. my companion and I handled a
situation very badly. Clumsily. We made a grave mistake and we regret
that. We want to make amends. We have looked for these people ever since,
yet we’ve never found them. I thought
you might have been one of them .. but you’re not. Forgive me for bothering you.”
“I’m
not bothered. I appreciate honesty and
you’ve been honest with me. Are you
visiting?”
“No. I’ve recently moved here.” Isaac smiled faintly. “In a few years, maybe even less, we’ll move
on again. The world shrinks every day
and none of us can afford to stand still.”
He bowed again. “I must return
to my work. Good afternoon to you.”
“And
to you,” she nodded.
The
feeling of disappointment he’d succeeded in losing had returned, twice as heavy
a burden to carry. His shoulders sadly
resigned, Isaac walked away and didn’t see the young woman watching him go.
*****
“I
was wrong,” Isaac sighed. “I thought I
recognized the girl we spoke to at the well that day, the one who told us about
Enoch and how he wouldn’t listen. But
it wasn’t her. Her hair was dark, no
streak of white to be seen.”
“Don’t
berate yourself, Isaac,” Elias said.
“The white haired people were close in your mind. Your eyes played a trick, that’s all. It’s understandable.” He saw the resignation sit there, stamped
onto the younger man’s face and body.
“Will you come eat with us?”
“I
have to finish that work for Simon.”
“Tell
me, before you start, if a chance arose for you to be Precept of your own
house, would you take it?”
Isaac
looked up. “Why do you ask?”
“You’re
the right age. You have experience
now. And I have heard rumors that they
may want to open a house in Babylon. It
is your home, Isaac. You would be the
right man to take on the responsibility.”
“I
would, yes,” Isaac nodded. “But I
wouldn’t do it.”
“Would
you tell me why?” Elias inquired. “I
can’t believe it’s because you lack ambition.”
“My
place is here. Not here in this town or
even here in this house, but here with you.
One day, yes, I may want my own house, but not yet. I have still a lot to learn and you are the
best teacher I could have, Elias.”
Elias
smiled and nodded. “Your loyalty honors
me. When you are done with you work
don’t forget to eat something.”
“I
will.”
Isaac
bent to the task. Book study by oil
lamp was worse than by natural daylight but it gave his mind a chance to focus
on something other than the enigma of the white haired people. He hurried thru Simon’s questions as quickly
as he dared, then checked everything twice to make sure he’d missed
nothing. Then he went to find his
supper and to think over the events yet again.
Why
is it I cannot summon these visions when I want them? Just a hint. A clue. Somewhere to start a search for them … It isn’t that much to want. But .. no.
My mind shows me pictures unrelated and gives me a sick headache as a
reward for my patience. I swear, I have
learned my lesson – do not leap to conclusions. Take your time, analyze the pictures, sort thru them, put them in
order if you can. My mind saw truly
before .. but I interpreted them incorrectly.
I won’t do it again. I
haven’t. But I’ve never seen images of
the white haired people since the last time.
He
reflected on his walk, seeing it again now in his mind. The girl, the ewer balanced on one hip, that
graceful way she moved so not to spill a drop of water. It was that which had nudged his memory, not
her hair because she’d worn a cloth on her head. Isaac sat up. A cloth on
her head. Yet, when I saw her, spoke to
her, she’d removed it. Why ..? Was it to show me that I was mistaken? But .. if that’s true, it would mean she
knew why I was following her. And .. if
she knew that, it must be because .. she recognized me.
He
went cold. Then he flushed.
Here
I am, jumping to conclusions again.
It’s a reasonable theory but it lacks proof. It is a chain of thought, nothing more. It is certainly not fact.
But .. if I am right .. and I pray that I am .. I said the right things
this time. Please, God, let it begin a
reconciliation …
*****
If
it did, it wasn’t immediately apparent.
Two weeks went by and Isaac didn’t see the young woman again, nor her
brother or any of her family, nor any of the others. Isaac almost started to believe he’d imagined the entire thing.
Then
Simon came running in, breathless and frantic with news. Simon was the newest member of the house,
just turned twenty years of age. He was
eager to please but steady and reliable.
Today, it seemed he was anything but.
Elias
sat him down and Simon bounced to his feet again. Elias, never one to scold without dire reason, firmly sat him
down for the second time.
“This
burning news can be told just as well sitting as it can standing.”
“But
– ”
“But
nothing. You are a member of the
Legacy. It comes with a certain amount
of decorum and gravitas. Always
remember that, Simon. I will listen to
your news only when I can understand you and, until you get your wind back,
that will be impossible.”
“Yes,
Precept.”
Isaac
brought a cup of water. “Sip it slowly
or you’ll choke,” he advised.
Several
precious minutes later, Simon was calm enough to deliver his urgent tidings and
it brought everyone to a state of panic.
“There’s
a demon in the desert.”
*****
Isaac
stood like a rock amidst the sudden turmoil.
Yes, he’d felt a jolt of shock and panic when Simon had finally uttered
the words, words which had him bouncing to his feet again in a mix of terror
and excitement. The terror was felt by
all, the excitement was purely Simon’s because he had brought the news
and was the cause of the turmoil.
“Wait,”
Isaac shouted and his Precept stumbled to a halt. The other members of the house looked round in shock. Isaac held up a hand. “Wait,” he repeated in a quieter voice. “We are in danger of .. dying like
Enoch. We need more information before
we risk going to battle this thing.”
They
all looked to Elias who closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “Isaac’s right. Acting in haste will get us dead very quickly. We need to know more and then we need to
formulate a strategy.” Elias smiled at
Isaac. “Thank you for keeping a level
head.”
They
sat Simon down again and began to interrogate him.
“How
did you know of this?” Elias asked.
“I
heard a shepherd, Precept. His flock
had been decimated. Not just
slaughtered but torn apart. He said no
man could have done it. It was a
demon.”
“Where
were you when you heard him? Where was
he?” Isaac inquired.
“I
was coming back thru town. He was near
the well. He was angry, shouting it out
to anyone who’d listen. Then another
shepherd said his flock had been attacked so he’d moved it.”
“So
we don’t actually know if there is a demon out there. It could be wolves. Wild
dogs even.”
Simon
shrugged tautly. “The first shepherd
said there was a strange smell, like rotten fish, and some of the carcasses had
.. some odd substance on them. If it
was blood, it wasn’t from the sheep.
Sheep blood is red .. and this wasn’t.
It was .. a dark green.”
“And
it stank.”
“I
don’t know if it was the .. blood, Precept.
But there was a foul stink in the air.”
Elias
thought for a moment. “We will need
weapons. Micah, see what you can
find. Spears, I think, something with
extra reach and a sharp point. Simon,
you’ve done well. The least we can do
is check out the report. Isaac, a
moment.”
Obediently,
Isaac stepped to one side. “Yes,
Precept?”
“There
are thoughts in your head. I can see
them. Will you share them with me?”
“Of
course. I was thinking that, if the
young woman I saw earlier this month is one of the white haired people, and if
the shepherd was shouting his news to whoever was around, and if the white
hared people are as we suspect, we may not find ourselves alone in the desert.”
Elias’
eyebrows rose. “Well, that is very
true, but, and I regret having to say it, there are a lot of ifs in your
words. We know nothing for a fact, not
even if it is a real demon.”
“I
know, Elias. I just wished to remind
you that, if my words have merit, we must be careful how we deal with these
people. The last time, we made wrong
assumptions and handled it badly.”
“I
understand. I will remember .. should
there be a need.”
“We
don’t know how long it’ll take us to find this creature,” Isaac added. “We’ll need water and blankets. The desert gets cold at night.”
“See
to it. Send Simon to fetch a
donkey.” Elias straightened. “We will leave in an hour.”
*****
The
shepherd’s cries had spread like a wild fire thru the town and had roused the
people. When Elias and his team set
out, they joined an exodus heading into the desert. There was the rabbi from the temple, going to do the Lord’s
work. There were other shepherds,
guarding their interests. There were
carpenters and rug weavers, merchants and money lenders. It seemed every able bodied man was going on
the hunt. Elias and his little group of
scholars were just five more faces in the crowd.
Both
he and Isaac felt frustration nibbling at them but for different reasons. Isaac wanted to see if the white haired
people were present and, with so many around, all wrapped against the heat,
dust and sand, it was impossible. Elias
knew the danger was real and, while he and his team had courage and knowledge,
all these others were simply going to protect their livelihood. It was a recipe for disaster yet Elias
couldn’t say anything. The Legacy was a
secret society, and Elias had not been in town long enough to build a
reputation enough for others to listen to his authority.
The
crowd marched to the site of the slaughter and, from there, spread out in all
directions. Elias and his team halted
to examine the evidence, such as was left after the carrion birds had been at
work.
“It
is like the fox which kills chickens,” Simon remarked. “Not because he is hungry but because he is
a killer.” He looked ill but he didn’t
faint.
The
strange odor was still present but much fainter, and it did indeed smell of
rotting fish. Elias tore a strip from
his coat and dabbed it in the dark green substance on some of the carcasses. It was thick, a gelid consistency. Warily, he raised it toward his nose and
sniffed.
“It
does stink,” he muttered.
“Is
it blood?” Isaac inquired.
“I
don’t know what it is. I can’t believe
these poor creatures put up a fight, certainly not enough to inflict serious
wounds. It could be some .. excretion
which is normal for the attacker. From
this, I would say it is a demon we are dealing with and not a lone wolf or a
pack of wild dogs.”
“Elias
..?” Micah called. “Take a look at
this.”
Micah
had found a crow. Its beak was smeared
with globs of the green substance, and the bird was obviously dead. Its eyes had dissolved and wisps of smoke
still curled from the sockets.
“There’s
more of them,” Micah remarked, pointing.
“They came to feast. They died.”
“Whatever
this substance is,” Elias said, “it is poisonous. These animals should be burned.”
“Simon,
help me,” Isaac ordered. “Wrap your
hands as protection. It may be only
poison if it is swallowed and it may only kill birds, but we won’t take any
chances.”
“What
fluid is it?” Micah wondered. “Spittle,
perhaps? This .. demon spits to poison
its victims, perhaps paralyze them .. and then, when they are helpless, tears
them apart while they still live, even though they would die anyway?”
Elias
considered. “It works. It’s a good theory, Micah. While we build the pyre, write it all
down. The record must survive even if
we don’t. That is what Enoch did wrong. Whatever he learned died with him. None of us can make the same mistake
twice. Knowledge is too valuable to be
lost.”
Soon,
smoke was billowing into the sky and they watched from a healthy distance,
their noses and mouths covered. It
wasn’t the gray black color of regular smoke.
It had a distinctly green tinge and Elias felt sure that, if anyone
breathed it, they would be poisoned just as much as if they’d consumed it. This only confirmed to him that they were
dealing with a vicious, powerful demon.
“What
do you suggest we do next?” Isaac inquired.
“Look
at the donkey.”
It
was a strange reply, one he wasn’t expecting, but Isaac looked at the
donkey. It stood there, its long ears
twitching to drive away the flies, bearing its burden with patience.
“There’s
no sign of panic in the creature,” Elias commented. “The ground here is churned up.
You can see prints of hooves all over the place. When the demon came, the flock reacted. The donkey, however, just stands and
waits.” Elias glanced round. “We use it as a .. measuring device. Animals’ senses are keener than ours. It will know before we do that there is
danger.”
Isaac
smiled in the depth of his beard. “Very
well. So .. we are to track the beast.”
“We
have to kill it, Isaac. We can’t let it
continue to exist. Our duty as Legacy
members demands that .. we put ourselves between innocent and guilty.”
“That
is understood .. but .. where do we begin to look, Elias?”
“Precept! There is more of the green poison over
here!” Simon called from a distance away.
“And there too!”
“I
think that is our answer, Isaac. We
follow the trail it had left for us.”
“And
.. if that trail is deliberate? That it
is a trap?”
“We
follow the trail. I never said we would
do it blindly nor rashly. We will use
the donkey as our alarm mechanism.”
Micah
studied the sky. “We have a few hours
of daylight left, Precept. Enough for
tracking with confidence anyway. After
that, we should find somewhere to make camp, somewhere off the trail. And we post a guard.”
“Agreed. Let’s move on while we can.”
*****
The
trail led toward the mountains. In one
way, Isaac was pleased to be given this chance to visit them. In another, he was angry because they had
been defiled. Simon was in front,
carefully searching for the splashes and spots of green, yet keeping a safe
distance from them. Isaac came next
with the donkey. Elias and Micah
followed him, and Jonah brought up the rear.
They walked steadily for hours and not once did the donkey refuse to
take another step. As the sun sank into
the west and the temperature began to plunge, they had almost reached the rocky
feet of the mountains.
“We’ll
make camp here,” Elias decided. “Simon,
find something we can use as a marker so we can locate the trail again in the
morning. Isaac, we’ll need a fire. A big one.”
“Jonah,
let’s go gather some scrub. Elias,”
Isaac said, “there are torches in the saddle bags. And food.”
Elias
was grateful Isaac was with him. Elias
was a true scholar more than a man of action.
Isaac balanced him in all the right ways.
“Do
you think it’s in the mountains?” Jonah asked as they retraced their steps.
“It
could be anywhere,” Isaac replied. “But
this was the way it was headed.”
“And
.. if it spits, will spears give us enough reach?”
“Probably
not. It depends on our strategy. Jonah, we have to worry about these things
when they happen. We don’t know the
mountains well enough to be able to say we’ll trap it there, or there. We need to survey the area, and that means
we have to follow the trail to the end.
If the beast isn’t there, the chances are good that it will return to
that place.” Isaac shrugged. “Personally, I hope it isn’t there.”
Jonah
frowned. “I’d never have said you were
a coward, Isaac.”
“I’m
not. It’s just that .. if it isn’t
there, we can prepare a trap for it.
Gather rocks to throw at it or drop down on it from above. Work out a strategy to kill it without
getting too close.”
Elias
was writing his journal before the light faded completely. Eli had begun the habit of making daily
entries. He had insisted every member
of his house do the same. Elias had
continued when he set up his own Legacy house but he hadn’t insisted that
anyone else do it. They could if they
wanted. He suspected that Eli would
make it a requirement for every member now that he was in control.
Eli
had also said that, as the journals were private until after an individual’s
death and only then would they belong to the Legacy, people should record
everything – thoughts, feelings, misgivings and ambitions as well as failures
and successes. They should be totally
honest.
Elias
wrote quickly. He used charcoal because
it was easier than ink in the field.
Today
Simon told us of a demon in the desert.
By nightfall, we had tracked the demon to the base of the
mountains. The trail appears to go on
but we will not attempt to follow at night.
The risk of injury if we stumble or fall is too great. The green spots we found near the flock of
slaughtered sheep appear to be poison of some kind and that is another risk too
great for us to contemplate. If one of
us should trip and touch this stuff in the dark, no, I will not have that on my
conscience. We have food and water for
several days yet, and, if necessary, I can send two of the team back to town to
gather more supplies. I will leave no
one here alone, nor will I send anyone back alone. I learned that lesson when I lost Enoch. As yet, I have not seen any sign of the
white haired people. I admit that, in
my heart, I had hoped Isaac was right and that we would not be alone in the desert. If they are as we believe them to be –
potential allies, or, at least, on the same side as us – I would sleep easier
this night knowing they are in the area.
But it seems we are alone. Our
first error in meeting them will live with us a while longer. It may be that amends will not be made in my
lifetime or for many years to come.
Isaac
struck a spark and a small flame glimmered on the kindling. Micah had unburdened the donkey, fed and
watered it, and he was now standing the first watch, leaning on his spear. Jonah piled up the scrub they’d gathered and
hoped it would be enough to give light till morning. The heat was a bonus. The
first defense against creatures of darkness was a good, strong light. Simon had spread out blankets and rationed
out portions of food. The camp was
made.
The
fire crackled cheerfully. It wasn’t the
only sound. Rocks cracked too as they
cooled. The breeze rustled the patchy
scrub, and whistled eerily as it found its way thru the high places above them. Elias’ stub of charcoal whispered over the
sheet of vellum. But there was no
unearthly howling, nothing to chill the blood more than the chill in the air.
“Micah,
wake me when you grow tired,” Isaac ordered.
“I’ll stand the next watch.”
“And,
Micah,” Elias added as he put his journal away, “if the donkey shows signs of
anxiety, wake us all.”
“Yes,
Precept.”
Elias
rolled himself in a blanket. “Do you
think they’re here, Isaac?” he whispered.
“I
pray they are, Elias,” Isaac softly replied.
“I truly pray they are.”