“I’m saying it. You have an objection?”
“It’s your army, Commander. If you want to put their lives at risk to save a couple of women, that’s your business.”
“Yes. It is.” Shechem whirled his horse around and lifted his arm to give the command to move. His captains cried out and the sound of marching feet filled the air in unison with the forward movement of the multitude.
* * *
Inside their house, the two lions paced back and forth beneath the living room window like a nervous father awaiting the arrival of his first child. Every few parts they let out a soft growl. Noah and his sons, armed with swords, stared out the window with the women behind.
“How many, you figure?” Japheth said.
“Five, maybe six thousand,” Noah said.
“What do we do now?” Shem said.
“Maybe if we surrender, they’ll spare our lives,” Ariel said.
“Malluch didn’t send five thousand men to take us captive,” Miryam said. “No, they’re here to destroy us and the ark.”
“I’m afraid your mother is right,” Noah said. “After waiting a hundred years, I doubt if Malluch’s quest for vengeance could be placated by a plea for mercy now.”
“What are we going to do?” Ariel said. “Surely, you don’t expect to go out alone against five thousand?”
“We are not alone, my daughter. God Himself is the general Who will lead this battle.”
“But how—”
Noah spoke with a forcefulness he had seldom used. “I tell you the truth. The sun will not set this day until Malluch’s army is reduced to nothing.”
Ariel’s head snapped back at her father-in-law’s words, but she remained silent.
Noah and his sons hugged their wives and started out the door, but had to wait when Ariel refused to let go of Shem. “Don’t go.” Her eyes filled with tears. He kissed her on the forehead and pulled himself away to join the others.
“Wait a part,” Shiphrah said. Before anyone could say anything, she dashed into the other room and returned carrying a sword. “I’m going with you.”
“Going with us, where?” Ham said. “Not out there, you’re not.”
“Look, this is no time for chivalry. You’re going to need all the help you can get against that mob. I can handle myself.” Shiphrah looked to Noah. “Father?”
“She’s right son. She handles a sword like your brother does an axe. Remember the man seeking revenge?”
“All right, but stay close to me.” Ham said.
“Right,” Shiphrah said.
The female lion followed them out, but the male hesitated, stopping to look back at Miryam. “Go on,” she said, shooing him with a backhand. “They need you more right now than I do.” She closed the door behind him.
Noah, his sons, Shiphrah, and the two lions moved to a spot near the bottom of the rise leading up to the ark. There, they stood side by side to face the approaching army.
Chapter 55
Shechem watched Noah, his family, and the two lions take up a position between his army and the ark. Drawing ever closer, he considered the seven bodies lined up ahead. What was it that drove them to act so foolishly? A twinge of guilt at the prospect of having to crush their brave, but futile, gesture tugged at his heart.
Within a half furlong, he could make out the figure of a woman among the seven challengers. For a moment, his heart dropped at the possibility of it being Elisheva. Though he’d issued orders to the contrary, out here, in the uncertainty of open combat, he realized he might not be able to save her.
Two hundred cubits closer and still no movement from the seven creatures arrayed before them. Mystified, he raised his arm again to stop the march. What were they up to? Five people and two lions just standing there, ready to be mowed down. For a reason he didn’t understand, a cold shiver raced down his back.
He detected movement on the ground and the rustling of grass as though blown by the wind.
Only the air was calm.
From a perimeter completely encircling his army, the grass parted in a pattern of hundreds of meandering lines headed directly for them.
The first outcry came from Shechem’s left flank, from one of the outermost columns. “Ahh!” a soldier cursed.
Too far away to see for himself, he called to one of his captains. “What is it?”
“I think something bit him,” the captain said. “He’s on the ground, grabbing his ankle.”
More cries followed, coming from every quadrant of the battalion while men fell and writhed in pain. Comrades rushed to their aid, only to find themselves victims of whatever is was striking at them from the ground.
Shechem wheeled in the saddle to his right at the sound of a soldier shrieking only a few cubits away, followed by another right next to him. Shechem’s horse reared at the unmistakable sight of a cobra’s hood rising above the grass in front of him.
“Whoa, boy.” He patted his horse’s neck and yanked the reins to back him out of range of the deadly serpent. He managed to regain control without falling, but across the plain, other horses—panicked by the movement at their feet—threw their riders to the ground and into the mouths of the swarming reptiles.
Panic wasn’t limited to the cavalry. Many foot soldiers sought to defend themselves by hacking and slashing at any movement coming from the tall grass. It was a strategy that proved both futile and dangerous in the close quarters of a military formation. Frightened strikes and misguided aim resulted in several soldiers finding themselves with wounds to their legs and shins.
A soldier determined to kill the snake that had bitten him, chased after it wildly swinging his sword. On his third chop, another high-pitched scream joined those already piercing the air when he cut off four toes of a fellow soldier.
Shechem had to act quickly to save his army.
* * *
Noah touched the lioness on her back, restraining her from charging. “Hold on, girl. You’ll get your chance.”
“Somebody’s anxious,” Japheth said.
“What’s happening?” Shem said.
“Serpents,” Noah said.
“Shouldn’t we go help them?”
“We will. After a bit more tenderizing.”
Confusion continued to plague Malluch’s army. Men raced back and forth across the formation, reduced to a herd of rabbits hopping about on hot coals to avoid being bitten. Dozens of riderless horses fled the brigade in every direction. Soon the shouts of men being attacked drowned out the commands of the captains attempting to restore order.
One soldier near the front rose from the ground, a viper attached to his hand. “Get it off me,” he said. “Get it off me!” After several unsuccessful attempts to shake it free, the snake dropped off on its own and disappeared in the grass. The viper must have struck a vein because the man immediately fell back to the ground and started convulsing.
Another two soldiers broke from their ranks and ran toward Noah and his family, not to attack, but because they were being chased. Two black mambas—known for their aggressiveness and speed—floated along the top of the grass in pursuit. They quickly overcame the soldiers and delivered their poison before heading back to claim more victims.
Unlike the lioness and Shem, Noah was in no hurry to join the battle. He was content to allow the serpents to erode the better portion of Malluch’s army, which already seemed overmatched. A part of him even felt sorry for them, not because of what the snakes were doing, but because this was only the beginning.
Chapter 56
“Head for the trees!” Shechem cried out to his captains. Although the trees wouldn’t offer much protection, right now they were fighting an invisible enemy. The dark, grassless earth of the forest floor would at least make the snakes easier to see.
His army broke for the forest, driven by the sound of their captains’ voices repeating the command to take cover. He rode his horse around the outside of the formation, galloping to the head of the new front line now paral
lel to the trees. Two hundred fifty cubits from the wood line, his internal alarm sounded again for a reason he couldn’t fully grasp.
Something was moving in the trees ahead. But what?
His answer came when the shrill cry of a screech owl echoed from deep within the dark forest. He recoiled at the muffled sound of flapping wings when the owl’s signal sent thousands of birds aloft from the treetops. He paused to admire the majesty of the bird-filled sky, only to jerk back to reality when they abruptly changed direction.
The birds descended on his army like a swarm of locusts, targeting the skin of exposed heads and hands. Hawks, owls, and other birds of prey swooped in to gouge with iron talons and rip apart with razor sharp beaks. Yet the smaller species proved just as savage, attacking in flocks of three and four per soldier by pecking away at their eyes, ears, and mouth.
In a matter of fifty to ninety parts, Shechem found himself surrounded by soldiers bleeding from their faces, their hands pressed tightly against cheeks of torn flesh. Cries of, “My eyes,” and “I can’t see,” rained across the formation. When a raven flew by holding an eyeball and the torn retina of some unlucky soldier in its mouth, he cringed. What had caused this madness?
He recognized the deteriorating condition of the battlefield and that he had to act fast to save his army. The chaos on the ground had moved overhead with soldiers seeking to defend themselves from their avian antagonists. Swords flailed wildly, leading to a host of injuries and two near decapitations. Compounding the situation, the increased noise caused by the screams of the injured and dying made it impossible for him to issue commands.
Still, he realized more than ever the importance of making it to the forest. Out in the open, his army remained vulnerable to attack from above and below. But the trees would afford at least a measure of cover. Again, he tried to rally his forces. “Get to the trees!”
If they didn’t secure safety soon, his men would all be dead.
* * *
Noah turned to the sound of thunder and the ground rumbling beneath his feet. From both sides of the ark, hundreds of animals hurtled down the hill. He, Shiphrah, and his sons joined the charge, sprinting to keep pace with their quadruped allies before wading into Malluch’s wounded and confused army.
Most of the big cats arrived first, leaping onto groups of paralyzed soldiers, knocking them to the ground and scattering those around them. Two leopards, the panthers, and the male lion made short work of twelve men with well-placed rakes through muscle and crippling bites to their throats.
The two tigers proved even more formidable. Slower than the smaller felids, they used their immense size and strength to maim or kill fifteen soldiers in the first eighteen parts of the skirmish. For whatever reason, the cries of these men seemed to echo louder than any other on the plain.
Soon after, several of the larger creatures arrived to change the dynamics of the battle. Elephants and rhinos plowed into the army’s ranks, tossing soldiers into the air with the ease of a farmer’s winnowing fan. Large, ebony buffalos used their huge, winged horn caps to gore and fling. One hippopotamus carried a soldier’s body around in its mouth impaled on its lower incisors, swinging it back and forth as a weapon. Had it not been so sickening, Noah would have found the image amusing.
For one group of soldiers, their encounter with a pair of giraffe proved anything but humorous. Noah watched six or seven soldiers largely ignor the approach of the two stately creatures. Maybe the soldiers were too distracted by the attacking birds or believed they could easily avoid the giraffes’ lumbering gait. Five parts later, all seven soldiers lay injured and dying on the ground, felled by the snapping front kicks of the two giants.
To his left, ten soldiers made the mistake of taking on a pair of massive brown bears. None of the soldiers laid a sword on them, but with each powerful swipe of the bears’ paw, another soldier went flying. And the sight of one of the bears closing its mouth over a soldier’s face made him squeamish.
Shem stayed close to his father when engaging the enemy, although early on, Noah had no need for human supervision. Each time he would clang swords with an opponent, the lioness would rush in and overpower the enemy. Even in the midst of fighting another soldier, she would invariably break away and come to his aid whenever she perceived him in danger.
Ham and Shiphrah fought alongside a pair of wolves and two hyenas. Without a word between them, the six worked in concert to attack and defend each other with a skill that belied their never having fought together. In one instance, Ham ran through three soldiers that had cornered one of the wolves. A short time later, two soldiers converging on Shiphrah were disabled by the two hyenas biting them on the groin.
Time and again, Noah’s attention was drawn to Shiphrah, not out of a sense of concern, but for admiration of her fighting style. Although Ham’s strength and ferociousness allowed him to overpower his foes, Shiphrah rarely locked swords with anyone. Instead, she moved like a dancer, displaying the nimbleness of foot and skill with a sword she’d developed in training with the Marauders to outmaneuver her opponents. By Noah’s count, Shiphrah had dispatched twice the number of soldiers as Ham.
While he marveled at Shiphrah’s skill, he pitied the men in Japheth’s path. Flanked by the two jaguars, Japheth stormed through the enemy, wielding his sword with the same vigor he used to swing an axe. In his first clash, his devastating power shattered three opponents’ swords and cut off the arms of two others.
The jaguars proved equally efficient, dragging their victims to the ground and disabling them with a single ripping bite to the throat. At times, it appeared the three of them might have been engaged in a competition.
Shem was the first to notice the opposing army’s change in direction. “Looks like they’re heading for the trees.”
“It won’t help them,” Noah said.
Chapter 57
Plagued by two blue jays and a mockingbird, Shechem swatted them away in time to see Noah’s animal legion tear into his army’s left flank. Watching his soldiers flung into the air only reinforced his conviction they needed to get off the plain. Only this time he didn’t have to issue the order. His army was already in an all out sprint for the woods.
He halted his horse at the wood’s edge and raised his sword to signal his fleeing soldiers. “Get to cover.”
Moments later, more screaming filled his ears, this time coming from the woods behind him. The soldiers who had gone in were headed back, and in a big hurry. They collided with their brethren going the other way. Many bled from wounds to their head and face.
He stopped one of the soldiers exiting the forest to ask what was happening. The man was missing his left ear.
“They’re everywhere,” the man said. “Apes. Baboons. Bobcats. Lynx. Even snakes. Dropping down on us from the trees. And on the ground, more snakes, giant lizards, and crocodiles.”
Two more soldiers followed behind him. The first, covered by what looked to be no fewer than a dozen species of spider, fell to the ground thrashing in agony. The second, trying to remove a pair of scorpions from his neck, wasn’t faring much better. Each time he tried to remove one of the arachnids, the second would sting his hand again.
A dozen cubits away, another soldier stumbled out of the woods screaming, a raccoon draped around his head. Cursing violently, the soldier flung the raccoon to the ground, which scurried into the woods. He threw his sword at the creature but missed badly, prompting him to curse again. When he went to retrieve the sword, a crocodile rushed out of the brush and grabbed hold of his arm. With two crunching chomps and three lateral shakes, the croc tore the soldier’s arm away before disappearing back into the brush.
Angered and frustrated that he’d been outmaneuvered by a collection of animals, Shechem tried to think. He’d lost more than half his army without inflicting a single casualty on the enemy. Now his men lay trapped between an inhospitable forest and an untenable plain. Even if he issued the command to withdraw, he couldn’t guarantee his forces would
make it safely back across the savannah. Something supernatural was at work here.
By now, some of the larger animals had smashed their way through the ranks to reach the woods. Two hundred cubits up the tree line, a rhino trampled and gored three soldiers, then hurled the fourth against a tree, snapping his spine. The two tigers, their mouths and front paws stained with blood, disabled seven more men with powerful swipes that opened gaping head and belly wounds.
He swung his horse around to screams coming from the battlefield. A hundred cubits behind him, two elephants performed a dance routine across the chests of several fallen soldiers. Fortunately for them, their screaming didn’t last long.
Fighting off a pair of seagulls, Bohar rode up with his two henchmen. “What do we do now, Commander? In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re getting slaughtered out here.”
We’ve run out of room to maneuver. It may be time for a retreat.”
Bohar’s head jerked back. “Through that sea of serpents?”
“Look around you.” Bohar’s eyes followed Shechem’s nod, first to his deteriorating left flank, then to where his soldiers were fleeing the forest behind him. “Which way would you choose?”
“I have a better idea.” He huddled for a moment with his two subordinates, and the three of them rode away through the ranks of soldiers headed toward the woods.
Experience told Shechem exactly where Bohar was headed and what would happen if he got there. It was the reason he’d issued the command in front of his battalion to bring him the women—to deter his miscreant colleague from exercising his predilections. Now it appeared he was the only one who could stop him.
To avoid the larger predators, Bohar would have to ride east, circle around outside the field of battle, and approach the house from the side or the rear. Shechem pursued them, slowed by the sea of soldiers coming his way. It took him another sixty to seventy parts to reach the rearmost ranks of his fleeing army. The sound of beating wings spun him around in the saddle. He threw his arm up in time to deflect the talons of a diving eagle but was still driven off his horse.
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