Love Inspired Historical March 2014 Bundle: Winning Over the Wrangler\Wolf Creek Homecoming\A Bride for the Baron\The Guardian's Promise (77 page)

Chapter Twelve

A
ri couldn't leave Mira's presence fast enough. When he'd seen her, seen that she was unharmed, all he could think about was holding her. But then Joash's words sunk through his fogged brain. And once he'd gotten past the vision of Mira, he understood what had occurred. Her knowledge of Joash's existence could have her killed.

Of course, she could have easily been killed when the soldiers came upon her the other day, and she had not known the secret then. It did not matter, she now knew some of the truth, a truth that could be used against her if she were to be captured by the queen's men. He could not return her to her home. Not until the child was back in Jehoiada's care.

Besides, not knowing if she was safe was like no other anguish he'd ever known. The travel to Jerusalem would take days and he'd prefer not to have Mira out of his sight for that long.

But now he was unsure if he had made the right decision. Something had shifted in the alcove. Something in Mira. As if she were a part of his sword arm, yet veiled behind a stone wall. And that alone scared him more than the idea of facing Athaliah's guards. At least with them he could fight with his sword. He knew the kinks in their armor.

He halted in the tunnel leading to the outer cave and leaned against the cool rough rock. How was he supposed to breach Mira's defenses?

With patience.
He nodded, agreeing with the voice in his mind. Ari pushed away from the wall and rounded the corner.

“You are doing good, my friend,” he said.

Joash sat in front of the fireless pit, mixing dough. “I like adding the honey. It makes it sticky.”

“And it makes it taste good.”

Joash giggled.

“When I return I'll begin the fire, and then we can make cakes.”

Ari stepped out onto the ledge, the bright sun streamed through the curtain of water. The magnificence of God's artistry left him in awe. Even with all the chaotic emotions ambushing him he felt the peace of the Lord raining down upon him. He must remember the Lord's will was at work. He must trust that, in the end, all would be well.

There really was no need to check the pool. Unless someone had seen him slip beneath the water no one would know of the hidden cove. But he'd needed time to gain his composure after his encounter with Mira. Which shouldn't have bothered him considering he wasn't free to take her as his wife. At least until his duties to the king were fulfilled.

He raked his hand through his hair. Somewhere between the time Nathan had announced Mira's disappearance and the moment he'd laid eyes on her, he knew she belonged to him. Only to him. He had within his possession the contracts to prove it, all they needed was his mark.

He only hoped she would warm to him before he told her about her father's offer. Perhaps there would be time during their travels to Jerusalem.

He knew the moment she stood on the ledge. Knew because his heart began to beat faster.

Mira moved to stand beside him, her shoulder only inches away. Not for the first time had he noticed that her hair flowed freely. He clenched his hands to keep from touching the silklike layers gracing her shoulder.

“Have you lost your veil?” He shouldn't take her to his parents unveiled. Not that they would mind, but he didn't want his brothers to see the treasure he chose to take as his wife, lest they try to steal her from him.

“No. Although it is quite filthy.” She wrinkled her nose.

He loosened his fingers and gave in to his desire to touch her hair. He rubbed a few wayward strands between his thumb and index finger. Her breath hitched as if she felt his touch. She turned her eyes toward him with wide innocence. Her perfect bow-shaped lips offered a gift he could not take until he pledged his troth. “I will purchase you a new one.”

Shadows crossed into her eyes. “I cannot go with you, Ari.”

He grasped her arms and stared down into her eyes the color of polished Lebanon cedar.

“You have no choice, Mira.” He wanted to force the issue, to claim her as his wife at this very moment if only to gain her obedience. Her life depended on her coming with him.

She released a breath of air and pulled from him before burying her disjointed fingers in her tunic. It was a gesture she often performed when nervous. “If you will leave, I will bathe now.”

“Of course.” He relented, although he was reluctant to let things stand as they were.

She maneuvered the natural rock stairway until she sat with her arms wrapped around her legs on the last stone. She glanced at him. His heart swelled with an emotion unknown to him. An emotion he'd seen in his father's eyes when he looked upon his mother. An emotion that left him feeling vulnerable.

Ari sighed. Their travels would be long. If they could not find any common ground, their time together would be torment. However, it would give him time to convince her she could trust him again. And maybe, just maybe that she'd be happier married to him than to the likes of Esha.

Ari closed his eyes for a mere second, branding the image of her into his mind.

* * *

How could her stomach flop around like a fish just at the sight of him, not to mention the joy that filled her heart when he touched her hand or how her breath hitched when he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear? Ay, he was perfectly made with the Lord's own hand.

However, she could not trust him, which meant she couldn't trust her reaction to him. She wriggled her nose. If she held on to his deception, it would not hurt as much when it was time for them to part.

Of course, she understood the need for secrecy where Joash was concerned. However, it did not make her feel any better about their situation. It did not make her feel any better that her village had been attacked.

Thoughts of her family crashed down upon her head. Not one word of good news passed Ari's lips. But then she had not asked, either. Did that mean they had perished under the guards' assault? What of her father and her mother? Had they survived? Ari had promised to return her to
Abba,
but what of her mother?

She hiccupped, choking back the torrent. It would do her no good to dwell on what she had no control over. She may not trust Ari, but her hope was in the Lord and His infinite wisdom.

She swiped the tears from her eyes and untied the sash holding her tunic in place. She shrugged the tunic off, allowing it to drape on the rock. With only her loincloth and linen around her breasts, she slipped into the water.

She stayed close to the edge. Close enough to keep her hand firm on the rock. Since the water reached her shoulders, she didn't have to arch her neck too far to soak her hair. Thick, long strands tangled around her limbs. It was as if she were cloaked in an ornately decorated robe. She closed her eyes, luxuriating in the cool spring and the silky caress of her own hair.

The power of the crashing water from the falls into the pool sent a thrill of excitement to her toes. To be caught, hidden within nature's womb, soothed her heartache a little.

If courage belonged to her, she'd take up her
tunic
and swim from this hidden oasis. Knowing Ari would catch her before she made it past the palms kept her feet planted on her slippery perch. If only she could just slip beneath the wall of water, if she could quickly swim to the edge, if she could...

Foolish, foolish woman.
Ari had ever been perceptive. Often, even finishing her sentences before she could form a complete thought. Besides, he'd find her at her father's house. And he'd sure enough come for her.

Wouldn't he?

She recalled the fierceness in his gaze when she said she was going home. As if she'd pained him. Although she couldn't pretend to know why. He was leaving. The lack of his band around his upper arm proved such. He'd chosen freedom. And she was certain her father would have asked him to stay.

She skimmed a hand over her wet hair, until she reached the ends, and then twisted, wringing out the excess water. Her thoughts stirred into a sandstorm.

If Ari had chosen freedom, he more than likely would not come after her. No, much to her distress, he'd continue on his journey to wherever he intended to travel. She glanced up to the ledge. He had not returned.

Before her courage abandoned her, she grabbed her tunic, slipped it over her body and dove beneath the water.

With escape firmly in her mind, not once had it dawned on her that danger would exist on the other side of the waterfall when she resurfaced. But when she cleared her hair from her eyes she blinked, once, and then twice, the bare bronzed backs of Athaliah's soldiers gleamed in the hot afternoon sun.

* * *

“It looks as if we are about ready to start a fire,” Ari sat next to the boy.

Joash smiled while he patted the last of the cakes into a disk. “Ari, may I ask you a question?”

Ari stretched out his legs and reclined onto his forearms. “Of course. You know you can ask me anything.”

“Why is it Mira bowed at my feet? That is an honor only given to the one true God.”

“You are correct, my friend.”

“Then why would Mira do such a thing? I am not the Almighty.”

Ari laughed before plucking a piece of dough from the bowl. “No, that you are not. Were you scared when the soldiers came?”

The child tilted his chin as if to contemplate the question. “At first I was confused, and then I ran. That's when I found Mira. She was at the well when the soldiers came.”

Closing his eyes, Ari lifted a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for protecting her.

“At first she wouldn't listen to me, but we heard the screams and then horses as the soldiers came after us. I could not leave her there. I had to protect her.”

He cringed at the story. He could only imagine the horror Joash and Mira had felt at the sounds. She must be worried about her family, and in his relief at finding them safe, he'd forgotten to give her word. “You did well, Joash. You have much courage for one so young.”

He'd have to wait until she returned to give her news of her family.

“Ari?”

“Yes, Joash?”

“You once said that most men were afraid of what lurks in the water.”

The corner of his lip curved upward. “Yes, I did.” He recalled the very moment he'd told him of the myths believed by men. The boy had been more interested in pictures of such creatures than feared by the possibility of their existence. Of course, he'd only told the boy the stories in order to reassure him that the cave was a place of safety.

“A soldier was here,” Joash said as if he were talking about lacing his sandals.

Ari rose to his feet. “Here?”

“Yes. He stood right there.” Joash pointed to a spot on the ledge.

“When?” The air caught in Ari's lungs.

“Not long after we came here. He stood there staring at us. Mira grabbed your sword and swung it at him. He left and hasn't returned.”

* * *

Afraid to release the air filling her lungs, Mira allowed it to ease out of her nostrils as she looked for a nook to hide.

Lord, hide Your servants from our enemies.

“I've searched the crags and nothing,” the Philistine spoke with frustration to his comrades.

“The boy is not a rumor. One of the servants told me of the child's arrival when he was a babe. A royal nurse brought him to that village.” Another soldier crossed his arms over his chest. “I want him found. I want him killed.”

Fear for Joash raced down her back.

“And the girl?”

Mira blinked. Her heart raced frantically.

“I want her brought to me. Unharmed.”

She inhaled sharply. A hand covered her mouth and before she knew what was happening she was pulled beneath the surface. She fought against the arm banded around her waist, clawed at the hand clasped over her mouth.

She twisted and turned in her assailant's arms. Water stung her eyes, open wide with fear. Before it all began they surfaced. Mira blinked her eyes to clear the water. Her exhausted body sighed in relief at the sight of Ari, but her mind wanted to rail at him for scaring her. However, his hand remained tight against her lips.

“Shh,” he whispered near her ear. “Come, very quickly and do not make a sound.”

She nodded and followed close behind up the steps and into the cave. She stood there, her wet tunic clinging to her as it dripped on the floor and watched as Ari made hand gestures to Joash. She watched in silent shock as Joash carried out Ari's bidding. Ari shoved foodstuff into sacks, and then shoved it into her arms. He lifted one of her feet and tied a sandal to it, then the other.

Her thoughts were in turmoil. Guilt assailed her. Because of her anger, because of her selfish desire to thwart Ari, she had endangered Joash.

She tried to read Ari's brisk movements, the darkening of his cheeks and the fierce tick in his clenching jaw. Did he blame her? It was his right.

He shoved his sword into its sheath and tied it to his belt. How would they leave? There were many of them and only one Ari.

Oh, Lord, forgive me!

Mira wanted to ask Ari where they were going. But Ari seemed hesitant to speak, which left her question unasked.

Unanswered.

Chapter Thirteen

T
he self-control that had earned him his position as Joash's personal guard was threatening to fray. It should have been obvious when he told her she had no choice but to stay with him that it was dangerous for her to leave. He didn't think she'd disregard his warning. Not in this.

The high color in Mira's cheeks and her downcast eyes as he tied her sandals onto her feet proved she'd realized the consequences of her actions. She would not try another escape.

He laid his short swords onto the crumpled mat and rolled it tight before tying it with a cord. He'd no doubt they'd need all the weapons they could carry. He never thought another man would enter the water out of fear of what lurked in the depths. But one had. A Philistine mercenary if the bronze helm and armor was any indication. It would not be long before the handful of soldiers returned, if the mercenary could convince the Hebrews to enter the water.

If he learned anything from his days as Commander of Temple Guard, once a Philistine decided on a course, there was nothing to sway him. If Athaliah had hired the ruthless mercenaries to fight alongside her warriors she no doubt believed Joash lived.

A bowl clattered to the floor, startling him. He spun on his heel in time to see Joash pick it up.

He finished emptying the contents of the chest into one of the linen bags just as Joash disappeared into the hidden alcove. Mira's feet seemed rooted to the cave floor. He grasped her hand and tugged her behind him. It was not until they reached the secret tunnel pass that she found her feet. And then it was only to come to a swift halt.

“Mira,” he whispered. “This is not the time for stubbornness.”

“What of my parents?”

He furrowed his brow, trying to concentrate on the noises coming from outside the cavern as well as on her question. “They are well, but we must make haste.” He tried once more to pull her toward the tunnel but her feet held firm. “I will tell you of their ordeals once we are safe, Mira.”

“I cannot go in there.” He felt her panic through the fingers clasped in his. Fingers rough and calloused from working alongside her mother and father.

“Why not?” This side of her puzzled him.

He had never seen her afraid. Not when she fought off a pack of wild dogs with a firebrand as he lay dying, and not when faced with menacing soldiers.

“I—I am scared.” She ripped her hand from his and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

He laid his palm on her shoulder, the wet linen cold beneath his touch. She shivered. There was no time for her to sit by the fire and dry. “Mira, do you trust me?”

Her hesitation was like vinegar poured over tiny cuts. But it was the glittering tears in her eyes that tugged on his heart.

There would be much ground to gain if he were to ever have her faith again. “Mira, you must listen to me.” He released her arm and adjusted the pack slung over his shoulder. “This,” he said, waving his hand. “Joash is much more than you and I could ever fathom. He is important to the good of Judah. Those men—” he pointed in the direction of the waterfall “—they know this. If they do not return with the child as their queen demands, they will lose their lives. If they capture us, we will lose ours.”

“It is dark,” she countered as if she hadn't heard a word he'd said.

He sighed with a great deal of relief. Thankful that she fretted over the darkness, and not over her faith in his abilities to keep her safe. “Yes, I regret that I cannot light a torch. Not yet. I promise to keep you by my side, but you must listen to me.” He grasped her hand, so small and cold and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “All right?”

The sound of earthenware hitting the ground was like a sword thrust toward his chest. Without waiting for her to answer he jerked her forward. They raced through the hidden tunnels as fast as he dared to push them, all the while praying the Lord would keep them hidden within the bowels of the earth. Not that he thought Athaliah's guards would find them in the maze.

After traveling through the dark for an hour, Mira tripped and stumbled behind him. He halted, taking her baggage from her.

“Are you hurt?” he asked. Their breaths ragged in the still, dark air. Her only answer was to squeeze his hand. If the walkways had been wide enough he would have carried her. “There is a hollow not much farther. I am confident in the Lord that we can stop for a rest.”

“How is it that you know this place so well, Ariel?”

He wanted to tell her the truth, the entire truth, especially when she reverted to his full name instead of the one she'd called him for the past several years. But he feared she would think he lied once again.

“A man does not survive without a way to escape his enemies,” he answered as simply as he could. He knew once Mira felt more like herself, she would continue with her questions. However, he never expected the one echoing off the cave walls to his ears.

“How did you become guardian to Joash?”

“Now is not the time, Mira. Soon, I promise you will have answers to your questions.”

After what seemed like another hour, an orange light began to filter through the walkway. Joash's shadowy figure moved toward it. Ari's faith wavered as he realized that the light could only be from a fire within. He tugged on Joash's tunic and pulled him backward. He let go of Mira's hand and knelt beside the child.

“If I do not return for you, you must go back twenty paces and turn north. And then forty paces to the east. There will be a blind man, his name is Seth. Tell him to take you high. He will know what to do. Do you understand, my young friend?” he whispered.

He hated causing the boy more stress, but no matter how much he willed it, if danger lurked in the cavern he wouldn't be the one to take Joash back to Jerusalem. That job would be left to the priests of Manna. He kissed the boy on either side of the cheek and bowed his head before he rose.

Reaching for Mira's hand, he leaned close. His heart thundered in his chest. Their breaths mingled between them. He should have accepted Caleb's offer and pledged his troth to her. “Mira, if aught should happen to me protect him with your life. He knows the way, but guard him well.” He slipped his hand from hers and replaced it with the hilt of his dagger.

“Remember, twenty, then forty, and run if need be.”

Joash's shadowy figure nodded. Ari straightened his tunic, pulled his sword from its sheath and crept forward.

He peered around the opening that led to the large cavern centered in the network of caves. A small fire flickered in the middle of the floor. A young girl knelt beside it stirring the contents of the kettle over the flames. A woman shuffled around carrying out various tasks as if she were expecting visitors. His gaze slid to one of the plaster benches that had been built into the walls hundreds of years before. Three men sat with their heads bowed and another woman sat at their feet. He drank them in having not seen them for near seven years. “Thank you, Lord,” he prayed.

Without hesitation he returned for Joash and Mira. At the entrance he motioned for them to remove their sandals, as he had done. Bowing his head he entered with Joash and Mira at his side.

“Shalom, my family,” he offered.

* * *

The men lifted their heads at once. Mira regretted leaving her veil behind, even soiled as it was. Fearing her lack of proper manners would shame Ari, she sunk back into the darkness of the tunnel and tucked her hand into her tunic lest they see her imperfections. As if reading her thoughts, Ari wrapped his fingers around her upper arm. It wasn't a touch meant to reassure or comfort, but a silent command to heed his will.

She fought the urge to pull from his grasp. She started to dip her chin when the men closed their eyes and raised their hands heavenward. The women halted their movements and bowed. They didn't return to their tasks until Ari returned their greeting.

One woman, the older of the two, set a bowl of water at their feet. She dipped her cloth in the bowl and washed the dust from Joash's skin. She dried them before perfuming his feet with oil.

Mira had seen the honor of welcoming guests performed many times, but never had she been the receiver of such a welcoming. The woman knelt before Mira. Unaccustomed to the attention from a stranger, Mira shrank back against the wall and curled her toes.

The woman glanced at her before looking to Ari. At Ari's firm nod, the woman gently took Mira's foot in her hand and began performing the same ritual she had on Joash. With the same grace and care as she had the young king. After she perfumed Mira's feet she moved on to Ari.

Once their feet had been cleansed, the youngest of the three men rose and approached Ari. In light of Ari's recent command, wariness trickled over her and she wrapped her arm around Joash hugging him close. The man bussed each of Ari's cheeks. “Shalom, Ariel. I have missed you at the temple.”

She choked. She was parched from their hasty journey. Her head spun. She pressed her fingers to her temples. What she'd just heard could not be true.

Ari, a priest.

“And I have missed you as well, Uncle.” Ari hugged the man.

Heat flooded her cheeks at the realization of what the past years had held. Shame slammed into her belly. This man had served her father with the diligence of any son, and he was a priest? No wonder he taught the law with efficiency.

Her knees began to shake. She pressed her knuckles against the wall to hold her upright. She had known there was something different about him. Had known the Lord had set him apart for a divine purpose and not just to build her bridal home or help tend her chores.

In her naïveté she'd thought the Lord had meant him to torment her with his constant interference. Tears smarted the backs of her eyes. She blinked them back when the elder of the three men greeted Ari.

“Shalom, Ishiah.” Ari grinned.

Her gaze traveled over the older man and then to the other two dressed much the same as this Ishiah. They each wore deep blue sashes around their waists. Were they all priests? They lacked the brightly adorned turbans her mother had told her about.

The older men were much shorter than Ari and their arms did not hold the same contours. They were not well muscled. And Ari's hair hung only to his shoulders. His face had been clean-shaven when he had arrived at her home all those years ago, and he had not once grown it back. Only now did his face contain a dark shadow from the lack of a blade on his skin.

Ari explained the events of the past days to the people in the room. Leaving out portions about the child's ancestry. “Mira protected Joash where I failed.”

Her cheeks warmed. It was on her tongue to deny her role but Ishiah grasped her hands with his papery ones. Heat seared her cheeks at the thought of this man of God, one who was holy and righteous touching her maimed hand.

“Shalom, Mira. It is a great fortune you were with the child when Ari was unable to be.”

She blinked, and then looked at Ari. Returning her gaze to Ishiah, she responded, “It was I who was fortunate, for it was Joash who saved me from another attack.”

Where had Joash gone? She found him on a bench with his legs crossed eating a cake of bread. It was nice to see him acting like a hungry child and not like a man beyond his time.

Assured of his well-being she returned her attention to the priests, feeling inadequate before them.

“I find the need to busy myself,” she said, noticing how the women continued in their preparations.

Ari chuckled. His laugh rolled out of his chest and to her knees, making them weak. “No one has ever accused Mira of having idle hands.”

She answered with a glare. “What is it that I can help with?”

Ishiah laughed. “First, Mira, you must dress.”

Her eyes widened in horror. She had forgotten about her disorderly and wet clothing during their frantic flight, but it was the way Ishiah stared at her hair that caused her the greater shame. “I beg forgiveness,” she whispered with her head bowed.

“Nonsense, child,” he replied. “After your ordeal, your state of disarray is to be expected.” He motioned toward one of the women. “Anna, my wife, will see you properly clothed.”

Anna approached them with a friendly smile and bowed her covered head in greeting. Her richly decorated veil shimmered in the firelight. The delicate woven blue sash around her waist looked as if it was made of the finest threads, and the trim on her tunic had beads tinier than grains of sand. Mira bowed in response.

“My thanks,” Mira said to Ishiah and then followed Anna to one of the outer rooms off the cavern.

Several oil lamps lit their path illuminating drawings depicted in the limestone walls. She gasped at the ornate pictures. Some were simple with lines and circles, but many were...

“They are lovely, are they not?” Anna asked.

“Very much. This place is beyond any words known to my tongue. I've lived in this desert all my life and never knew...”

“There are not many who do know the depth of these crags. King David himself, with his soldiers, hid in these very caves when Saul sought to kill him.”

Mira ran the tips of her fingers over the white lines. Had David drawn this very image? Had he written psalms upon these very walls?

“The priests have kept them to themselves. They have used these caves to hide from those who would destroy them. And to carry out God's will.”

“Much like now?”

Anna lifted a fresh piece of linen from a box. “Here, let us unwrap you.”

Mira shied away knowing her scars were not contained to her hand only, but twisted up her arm and over her shoulder. She did not wish to be rejected or worse, pitied. However, Anna insisted and removed the damp tunic and the under binding from Mira's chest and replaced it with a dry, fresh, balsam scented cloth before handing her a new loincloth. Not once had the woman reacted or commented on the distasteful scars marring Mira's flesh.