The Warrior's Vow

by Christina Rich

  “I do not understand.” She curled her legs beneath her. Her green eyes pleaded with him, tugging on his heartstrings.

  “Abigail, there are those who were faithful, not to your parents, but rather to their ideas. They would see those ideas protected, even kill for them, sometimes even do worse things.”

  “What could be worse than death?”

  He ignored her question. If she did not know, he wouldn’t tell her and he prayed God would protect her from such evils. “Tell me, Abigail, have you ever seen the sun rise or even set?”

  She glanced toward the opening of the cave and blinked. Her lips twisted. “I do not know.”

  He smiled at her. “Once you do, you’ll never want to miss another one as long as you draw breath.”

  He had the sudden urge to watch her as she witnessed her first sunset, more now than he had earlier. Her eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps she did not understand what it was he was trying to say. “Right now we have the freedom to choose to stay here, travel to Jerusalem or return to Suph’s camp. We are not forced to one or the other. No matter the course, it is ours to decide.”

  “I have not had the liberty to choose. Leaving camp was the first decision I’ve truly made on my own since I was a child, and even then I paid a price.”

  “I wish to know more, but I fear we must be leaving soon.”

  She smiled. “First you eat, Jesse.”

  Jesse rose up on his elbows while she folded a blanket behind his back. She pressed her bowl into his hands. “You cannot regain your strength without sustenance. Besides, I am learning that what will happen, will happen.”

  “I guess you are correct.” However, he knew the longer he tarried, the more likely they risked being found. He had not thought of it at first when he sent Nathan here, but Elam might guess he’d hide here and inform Suph. “I will eat, then we must go.”

  “I will get you some water.” She rose from her seat and Jesse immediately missed her presence. There was something about her that drew him. She was kind and tender, yet wounded deep in her heart. He did not know if he could offer her words of healing, but somehow he knew he must try. Perhaps that is why God allowed him to be captured, to help her not be so sad.

  “Here,” she said as she handed him a cup. “Ianatos has gone to check the pass. I will help gather our belongings. When you are ready we will leave.”

  He nodded. “I would like some time to pray. Then I will be ready.” It seemed ages since he had given thanks to God and it was time to do so, before he took another step. Too often he made decisions without seeking God’s direction.

  She stood there, looking down upon him, wariness in her eyes. “How is it you speak to your God? He is not here. There is nothing to pray to.”

  He laughed. “In that you are wrong, Abigail. He is everywhere. Do you think so little of the God Almighty, the one who created the heavens, the one who created the very mountain you seek refuge in, that He could not be here with us now?”

  She shook her head. Strands of hair fell loose from her veil. “I do not know this God enough to know what He has done or what He is capable of doing.”

  “Then come, sit beside me and we will pray together.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. Her lips parted as if to say something, but she drew in a shaky breath and walked away.

  An ache, not caused by any of the wounds Suph had inflicted, tore at his heart. What would it take for her to acknowledge God as the one true God? Jesse closed his eyes and bowed his head. “Father God, thank You for guiding my paths. Thank You for Abigail’s and Dara’s healing hands. Forgive my stubbornness and having not called on You sooner. Father, I weep for these people. My wish is that they would know You. Moreover, I weep for the whole of Judah. I thought once the rightful king was restored to the crown all would be well, but it is not, is it, God? It will not be well until Your people call on Your name and acknowledge You as their God. Father, may it be so. May Your people call upon Your name and may my actions, whether word or deed, glorify You.”

  He felt her eyes on him. He raised his head and glanced at Abigail. With jerky, angry movements she stuffed goods into a bag. His offer of praying together had angered her, but why? Perhaps she was not yet ready to seek God.

  “Do not forget this.” Bilhah handed Abigail a small earthen jar, but Abigail did not take her eyes from his. It was as if she was searching for something, but it felt as if she was distancing herself from him and she did not even know it.

  God, soften her heart and show me how to reach her.

  Jesse waited for the peace Ari had spoken of to settle in his being, but nothing came. He felt weak, and not from his wounds, but from sorrow. He wanted her to want to know God. It was that choice he told her about. It seemed, however, the false gods were too rooted in her past to be removed.

  A shadow passed before the entrance of the cave. Ianatos stood, hands on hips, his muscles tense. “Is Jesse awake?”

  “Aye, that I am. What troubles you, my friend?” Jesse climbed to his feet.

  “Travelers are ascending the pass.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Abigail’s heart hit the rock floor along with the linen bag she’d been holding. She’d feared the moment when Suph caught up to them. Not for herself, though; she’d be willing to do as Suph asked as long as Jesse was not harmed any further.

  “Jesse,” she said as she neared him and laid her palm on his arm. “You must hide in the alcove.”

  One of his eyebrows rose and his muscles tensed. A tinge of color, the first bit she’d seen since she’d met him, painted his cheeks. “I am no coward.”

  Her jaw dropped, and then she snapped it closed. Abigail had not fought back nausea as she diligently stitched each of his wounds just so his pride would see him killed. She jammed her fists onto her hips. “I never implied as such. You are wounded and weak. You can barely hold your head up let alone stand on your own two feet.” She glanced over her shoulder to ensure it was still only them. “Now hide.”

  “I will not.” He slid the dagger Nathan had given him earlier from his belt. The stubborn man wavered on his feet. She braced herself to steady him as he leaned forward, the glint of the blade between them.

  “You will.” Abigail smacked the flat of her palm against Jesse’s wrist. The blade clattered to the cave floor. The color of his eyes took on the fire of the torch. His nostrils flared. She stepped back, eyed the dagger and then him. His chest rose and fell in smooth, controlled movements. He pressed his palm against the cave wall, she was certain, to steady himself.

  “I will not cower in the dark like a babe, Abigail. I have made a vow to protect you.”

  “Ha!” She threw her hands in the air before fisting them on her hips once again. Her pulse thumped, whether from anger at him or from the danger bearing down upon them, she did not know. Perhaps it was both. “You are not invincible and you have made no such vow to me, Jesse the Levite, as if you could keep it in your condition.”

  In one swift movement he grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her to him. Singing metal echoed off the stone walls, but she paid them no heed for his warm breath scented with honey and cinnamon caressed her lips, making her knees weak and her toes curl. She swallowed past the knot in her throat.

  His gaze shifted beyond her shoulder. “Tell your dogs to put their swords down.”

  She shivered, not because of the command in his tone. Nay, he loosened his hold on her arm and replaced it with a gentle swirl of his fingers, soothing the bite of his earlier grip. Abigail couldn’t form a coherent thought, let alone speak. She heard the swords being sheathed and closed her eyes in thankfulness.

  “Abigail.” His soft whisper jerked on her heart. She opened her eyes. An emotion unknown to her swirled in the depths of his gaze, an emotion somehow connected to her knees, for they seemed to melt like warmed honey. “
Do you doubt my prowess, lovely Abigail?” He removed his hand from the stone wall and drew it down the length of her hair; his eyes left hers, following the trail of his hand.

  Jesse held on to the ends, twisting them in his fingers. “So soft and beautiful.” His gaze bored into hers once more. “I, Jesse the Levite, vow to protect you, Abigail, Princess of Judah, daughter of Athaliah. I will protect you from your enemies even at the cost of my life.”

  She swallowed and blinked.

  “Do you understand what it is I am saying, Abigail?”

  No one had ever made a vow to her. Aye, she knew Nathan and Jonathan would give their lives for her, but never had they vowed it. Not in the way Jesse had.

  “Jesse, if you are done playing court you have company.” Ianatos’s hard tone had Jesse releasing his gentle hold on her. He bent at the waist with a barely perceptible moan, picked up the discarded dagger and stepped past her. She did not move. She stared at the spot he had vacated, bemused by the instant change in strength. However, she did not miss the lines of distress that proved his wounds continued to bother him. Jesse was a mystery, one she intended to unravel before they parted ways.

  “Nathan, you are the fighter, yes?” Jesse took command.

  “Yes.”

  “Jonathan, take the women and their belongings to the alcove.”

  Ianatos cleared his throat. “That will not be necessary, Jesse. I believe it is your brothers.”

  Abigail spun around on her heels. “Your brothers?”

  Jesse’s spine stiffened at her raised tone but he did not turn and acknowledge her question. Anger warred with relief. Her worry that Suph had found them had been for naught, but how had his brothers found him? Now that they had, surely Jesse would no longer need her. Surely his promise to protect her from her enemies, men like his brothers, would be forgotten. She pressed her palm to her chest. How would his brothers feel about her? Would Jesse hand her over to them? Would they seek to kill her as they had her mother?

  She stepped forward and was halted by Bilhah. “Now is not the time, Abigail,” Bilhah pleaded.

  “But—”

  “No.” Bilhah grabbed hold of her arm and took her to the edge of the alcove. “I know of Jesse’s family. Do not argue with him. Do not cause him shame.”

  Abigail glanced at her cousin and then to Jesse, who spoke with Ianatos and Nathan. “How?”

  “I cannot answer that question for you, Abigail. What I do know is you should not question him as you have already done. You crossed bounds no woman would dare, not even with her husband.”

  “He is not my husband.”

  “This I know, dear one. However, you have wounded his pride by calling him weak.”

  “I did not...”

  “I know this.” Bilhah glanced toward Jesse and then back to her. “I believe your Jesse knows this, as well. Unfortunately, when a man’s pride is wounded sometimes it is worse than the physical wounds we can see with our eyes.”

  Heat rose into Abigail’s cheeks.

  “If you wish to redeem yourself in his eyes, do not question him further. Allow him to take the lead. He will answer your questions in due time. However, if he tells you to hide, hide. If he tells you to run, run. And if he vows to protect you with his life against your enemies, he will do so even against his family.”

  Bilhah moved away from her and began helping Dara finish gathering their supplies. Abigail stood there watching the activity move around her in slow motion. Too many things of this world she did not understand. Bilhah knew more than Abigail could ever imagine, and like the rest of the people in her life she tried to shield Abigail from the horrors. Well, no more. Jesse had said she had a choice, which meant she could choose the truth if she wanted or she could choose to remain ignorant.

  However, she would listen to Bilhah’s wisdom and would bide her time. She would obey Jesse’s lead for now and hope she didn’t lose her life doing so.

  * * *

  Jesse knew family could mean Elam. However, if Ianatos had seen his uncle, would he have not said?

  “How many?” Jesse asked.

  “Three come up the pass. Many more are down below,” Ianatos responded.

  “My traitorous uncle Elam?”

  “This I cannot be sure of, Jesse. I only recognized the man in front as he looks like you only...smaller.” Ianatos glanced at his feet as if embarrassed at his observation.

  Jesse smiled, knowing Isa would greet him. However, if his brother had not heard of Elam’s wickedness he would not know to distrust him. Precautions must be made. He turned to Jonathan. “Take the women to the alcove and remain hidden. There is a chance Elam is with them. If he is, that means Suph is not far behind. Nathan, stay in the shadows. Do not let them see you. If Elam is with them and he sees you, he’ll know Abigail is with us.”

  Nathan started to move away, but Jesse halted him with his hand. “I know you will guard her well.”

  Nathan nodded and then slipped into the shadows. After they were gone Jesse faced Ianatos. “My friend, if anything should happen to me, take them deep into the mountain. These passes lead to many places. Follow the signs. The ibex drawings will take you to the spring. Take her to my brother Ari. He must get her to Jehoiada. I do not have to tell you how important it is that she not be captured by Suph.”

  “No, that you do not, my friend.”

  “Good, shall we greet our visitors?” Jesse stepped out onto the ledge with a quick prayer on his lips that Elam and Suph were far from here. Warm air encompassed him. The salty sea filled his senses. He glanced toward Manna, the city hidden within the mountains that his family called home. A place he hadn’t called home in years, even though a part of him longed for its seclusion. It would be easy enough to go there and take refuge from the chaos ruling Judah. However, his heart beckoned him to stay with Abigail and help her in her quest for truth.

  He exited the cave and began descending the pass. It was not easy to keep his feet firm, not with his head spinning with each movement. But he’d made a vow to Abigail and he’d see it through, if only to prove to her he was not a coward, nor a weakling. He shook his head. If he had not been beaten to a bloody pulp, she’d not have asked him to hide. He stretched his chest and arms, testing his muscles.

  “Will you get over her insults?” Ianatos asked from behind him.

  “I was not offended.”

  “So you say. If you ask me, her words struck you where it would hurt you the most.”

  “And where is that, my friend?”

  “Your pride.”

  “Aye, she did sting my pride a little.”

  Ianatos laughed. “You near crossed boundaries. I thought I was going to have to kill her friends in order to save you. Not that I would have had a problem, mind you.”

  Jesse thought back to his anger and regretted the emotion. He did not, however, regret touching her arm. Her tresses. Her eyes with his. He did not regret making his vow to protect her. In fact, his vow, albeit hastily spoken, soothed his wounded pride a great deal and humbled him even more. She was a treasure to behold, one he had no right thinking of possessing. Unfortunately, his heart seemed taken with her.

  He blew out an exaggerated sigh.

  “What is it that bothers you, Jesse?”

  “Nothing.” Everything. Abigail. Somehow he had had the fortitude to hold back. The jasmine cloaking her had drawn him in until his eyes focused only on her lips. He had grasped her tresses in an effort to distract himself. He had wanted to kiss her, had thought to kiss her. However, once he crossed that line he would give her his troth, and that he could not, would not, do. Not as long as she denied God. Then why had he angered so easily? Not because she had wounded his pride, but because as long as she denied God, Jesse couldn’t allow a simple kiss between them. He could not be yoked to a helpmate who did not l
ove God the way he did.

  “You grumble much for a man who has nothing bothering him. If I were to guess, it would have to do with a stubborn princess.”

  Before he could respond, rocks tumbled from the side of the mountain. Jesse and Ianatos halted their steps and listened. Muffled voices reached Jesse’s ears. His muscles tensed and he fortified his nerves for the encounter. He held his breath as he followed the pass around the curve. At two boulders’ distance, three men sat in the middle of the pass, their feet dangling over the edge. The older of the three drank deep from an earthenware flask. Jesse smiled, thankful Elam was not among the threesome.

  “Come, Ianatos. I would have you meet my brothers Isa and Melchiah, and my uncle Seth.” Jesse rushed forward. His head began to spin. He reached out to steady himself against the rock wall and met air. Fortunately for him, Ianatos grabbed hold of his tunic and settled him.

  “You are weak, my friend.”

  Jesse started to grumble.

  “No. I do not insult. It is the truth. If you wish to see your woman safe you must slow down until your strength renews itself.”

  “You are right. I am excited to see my brothers and Uncle Seth.” He smiled. “It is a great joy to see them after the ordeal I have been through. And of course—” Jesse sobered “—I must inform them of Elam’s betrayal.”

  “Do not allow your excitement to dictate your steps, or you will meet your death before you greet them.”

  “You are correct.” Jesse laughed. “You do have a way with words, my friend. Brothers! It is I,” Jesse called out.

  Isa and Melchiah rose to their feet, shielding their eyes with their hands. Seth, his blind uncle, continued to sit, grinning up at the sky.

  “Jesse?” Melchiah approached him. “What has happened to you?” His brother gave Ianatos an accusing glare.

  “I found a bit of trouble. Tell me Mother is not with you. I would not have her see me this way.”

  “It is not as if she hasn’t seen you with purple eyes before.” Isa shook his head. “No, she is not with us. She is with Abba and our other brothers celebrating Ari and Mira’s marriage.”