by Tim Chaffey
Naamah raised her fist and took a step forward. “No, you hear me. Today, you will be offered as a sacrifice to the most powerful god, Nachash, the Splendor of the World.”
The giant sentries spread their wings — two of them out to the sides and a pair far above their heads — and they slowly drew their swords. It seemed as if they deliberately allowed the metallic blades to scrape against the opening of the sheath. The screeching sound of metal on metal may have been intended to intimidate the army, but it did nothing to shake Naamah’s confidence.
She walked toward her chariot to wait for her men to move into position and spotted her nephew several rows back. Interesting. She pointed to the man guarding Purlek. “Bring him and his wife to me.”
A pair of guards led the battered couple toward her. As pitiful as Purlek appeared, Evet seemed even worse, her gaunt frame scarred and bruised from the abuse rendered by Naamah’s soldiers. They barely resembled the people she had met in her throne room.
Naamah ordered them to stand before her and face the garden. She lifted her voice. “Mighty guardians, you underestimate me. Behold the son of Tubal-Cain, and his wife.”
The taller guardian narrowed his gaze. “Greetings, son of Tubal-Cain. Know that you and your wife are loved.”
“How delightful. Let’s see just how loved they are.” Naamah sneered and then made a hand gesture to the guards, who instantly drew their swords and held them against the necks of their captives. “Hear me, guardians. If you don’t let my men pass, then these people will die.”
“No one is permitted in the garden.”
“Then they die.” Naamah drew her own blade and directed it toward Purlek. “Apparently you don’t love them.”
The shorter protector slowly twirled his sword. “Foolish woman. If you kill them, it does not lessen the Creator’s love for them.”
His companion smiled. “Son of Tubal-Cain, you and your wife have no cause to fear death.” He looked at Naamah. “Sister of Tubal-Cain, you have many reasons to fear it, just as your mentor did.”
Rage swept over her. How did they know of the seer’s terror?
She turned her glare on the two captives. “Kill them.”
Quick movements from the guards, and her nephew and his wife crumpled to the ground. As he fell, Purlek spun to one side.
She saw his face.
Peace.
Gritting her teeth, Naamah climbed into her chariot. No matter their size, these beings will not stop me. This so-called Creator will not win! Looking up to the sky, she rolled her eyes back and chanted a curse upon her two enemies. The wind picked up and energy coursed through her. As she repeated the spell over and over, one word filled her mind. Immortality. Her eyes refocused on the darkening skies and she slowly shifted her gaze back to the guardians. Burning with intense hatred, Naamah screamed a war cry at the top of her lungs.
A great yell rose from the tens of thousands of soldiers preparing to charge. Led by their queen, they repeated the shout five more times.
Unable to restrain herself any longer, Naamah pointed her spear toward the garden and ordered her army to charge.
The thunder of thousands of footsteps mixed with battle cries rushed past her. Dozens of giants wielding jagged blades led the assault.
Naamah gripped the edge of the chariot, anticipating her moment of glory as the two massive beings raised their swords and steadied themselves for battle.
With their longer strides and freakish strength, the giants arrived first. Sparks flew as blades clashed with blinding speed. Three giants flew backward into the rushing crowd, knocking down dozens of her men.
The guardians’ blades danced through the air and through their enemies with unmatched agility and grace. Cutting down attacker after attacker, the glowing beings dashed side to side as they faced the onslaught. One of them ducked low as he quickly spun, and his wings swept several warriors through the air.
Naamah anticipated heavy casualties, but eventually the guardians would grow weary or make a mistake. A smile crossed her lips as she realized the two beings remained engaged at the garden’s entrance, leaving no one to guard against her flanking soldiers. A flash of light caught her eye from the right side of the garden. But this light was different. Instead of the glowing brightness of the guardians, this looked more like fire. She spotted it again, but only for the briefest of instants. Looking back to the left side, she noticed the same thing. A moving flame appeared, and in the blink of an eye it was gone, reappearing on the other side of the garden. Setting aside her confusion about the intermittent flame, she refocused on the battle before her.
Screams of aggression mixed with shouts of anguish as the giant sentries dispatched every soldier they faced. Another spin from a guardian launched ten more soldiers away from the garden. The ground quickly filled up with dead and wounded soldiers, and her army slowed their advance as they stepped over and around and on their fallen companions.
Undeterred, Naamah reissued the command to attack, and her eyes lit up when she caught a glimpse of a giant jumping onto the back of one of the guardians. Her warrior wrapped his arm around the being’s neck. As they jostled for position, the giant seemed to gain a better hold and fought to hang on. Suddenly, the guardian jumped into the air and performed a forward flip, landing on his back, crushing the giant and a few more soldiers. In a heartbeat, he returned to his position and continued to fight.
The guardians showed no signs of tiring, and Naamah wondered if a break to develop other strategies might be necessary, but would that give the sentries time to recuperate? They must be growing tired. We should continue attacking.
She called out for Nachash to strike his enemies while they were distracted. Part of her admired the guardians’ matchless skills, although it may have been her sadistic lust for bloodshed that drew most of the appreciation. But every other part of her being flooded with revulsion for them as her initial confidence ebbed.
“My queen!”
Naamah searched for Nivlac’s familiar form. Did he make it to the tree?
He soon appeared at her side. “They’re all gone. All of our companies on the south side of the garden.”
She stomped her foot. “What happened?”
“A flaming sword appeared and sliced through our men as soon as they attempted to enter the garden. It kept appearing and then raced away to kill others.”
“Ahh! We’re so close.”
“I know. I have another plan.”
She leaned toward him to hear his words over the sounds of the battle. “Tell me.”
Nivlac pointed to her left. “Look way over there in the distance, above the trees.”
“What am I looking—” She stopped as she noticed a large ship-like structure in the distance. “Is that what Purlek mentioned? That giant ship Noah was building?”
“Yes.”
“What does that have to do with this battle?”
“Noah told you the Creator will protect him during a flood, right?” Nivlac rushed his words.
She nodded.
“If we capture Noah and bring him back here, we can exchange his life for access to the garden.”
She pointed at Purlek’s body. “It didn’t work with them.”
“But they were never told that they would survive the flood. If the guardians refuse to deal for Noah, then we kill him and turn their God into a liar. But if they agree, then we get what we want.”
Naamah turned back to the battle for a moment. As before, Havilite soldiers rushed in only to meet a swift death at the end of a guardian’s sword. She nodded. “I like it.” Raising her voice, Naamah called out to her captains. “Order the men to fall back! We have a new plan.”
Moments later, the fighting stopped. The noisy battle sounds yielded to the anguished cries of the wounded as men hurried away from the garden, abandoning their injured comrades.
Naamah gathered her remaining captains. She pointed to the ark in the distance. “Change of plans. We’re going to march through
the night to capture the man who is building that.”
Chapter 36
Standing at the top of the outer ramp, Noah surveyed the bare landscape before him, where majestic gopherwood trees once rose high into the sky. Most of them now made up part of the ark and only some of the stumps remained, littering the terrain beyond the harvested fields, now barren of animals. A dense forest still encircled them, but its borders no longer stretched so close to the expanded clearing that had served as Noah’s home for the past century.
The ground rumbled again, just as it had done multiple times throughout the week. Noah stared at the hill in the north, where he had encountered the guardians many years earlier. The evening before, as the family gathered outside the ark, Kezia had noticed flickering lights emanating from the area of the garden. Everyone discussed what might have caused the lights, and they eventually settled on the idea that the Creator had spoken to the guardians to inform them that, with the onset of the flood, their long appointment at the garden would draw to a close. The thought that nothing would ever look the same following the flood saddened Noah.
Stretching his arms, he descended the ramp, but stopped as Emzara drew near, guiding a pair of young keluks toward the door.
“I’m saving the best for last.” She smiled at him. “I didn’t want to put them in their cages any longer than necessary.”
“I’m sure they’ll appreciate that.” Noah quickly kissed her cheek. “After you lock their enclosure, send Japheth and Ham to the wagon. Looks like we still have room for more firewood.”
“Be quick. We don’t know when the flood will start. I’ll double check the cages to make sure we have all the animals.”
Noah passed Shem driving seven pairs of bleaters up the ramp. “Meet me—”
“—at the wagon.” Shem slapped him on the shoulder. “I heard you tell Mother. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Noah reached the ground and strode toward a woodpile near the north end of the clearing. The earth trembled again, and he instinctively glanced over his shoulder to verify that the ark remained steady. As the sun disappeared behind thick, dark clouds, he reached the wagon hitched to the pair of tuskers that had arrived in the glade a week ago. Patting one of them on the head, he said, “Looks like you two will be the last to board.” The tusker raised its short trunk and let out a whistle.
He led the pair to the woodpile and moved to the back of the wagon. As he tossed split logs into the cart, a light rain began to fall. Glancing up, Noah spotted his sons running toward him as immense, almost black clouds tumbled in from the west.
“Looks like it’s ready to start,” Japheth said as he grabbed two pieces of wood and threw them into the wagon.
“Mother wants you to hurry,” Ham said. “She’s checking all the animal stalls to make sure we didn’t leave any out here.”
“Yeah, she said that she found two open stalls already. One for the tuskers, but she was checking her list for the other kind.”
A gust of cold air blasted them, chilling the rain and driving it sideways for a moment. Noah rubbed his arms quickly before continuing to load the wagon. The anticipation of the coming judgment filled him with adrenaline, allowing him to work faster and harder. A sense of dread repeatedly attempted to invade his mind, but he pushed it back by focusing on his work.
“What’s that noise?” Shem asked.
“The wind,” Ham said.
“No, not that. Listen.” He pointed north. “Over there.”
As the gust died down, Noah heard cracking twigs and a snort.
“Maybe that missing pair of animals,” Japheth said.
Noah’s eyes grew wide as dozens of soldiers stepped out of the forest a few hundred cubits away. In the middle, two beasts similar to Captain Iradel’s towed a chariot with a female occupant. Despite the distance, Noah had very little doubt about her identity. Naamah! Another chariot pulled alongside her. “Get to the ark. Now!”
As he shouted, Naamah pointed a staff in their direction and yelled to her soldiers, who immediately broke into a sprint.
Ham jumped into the driver’s seat of the wagon and Shem encouraged Noah to take the other spot.
“No, you take it,” Noah said. “I’ll be right behind.”
“Come on,” Ham said.
Noah and Shem ran toward the ark, while Japheth took the seat near Ham. Glancing back, Noah spotted hundreds, if not thousands of soldiers pouring into the clearing to give chase. The tuskers clomped past him and Japheth and Ham urged him to hurry. Shem’s younger legs kept him slightly ahead of Noah.
The earth quaked again. Noah lost his balance and tumbled to the ground. As he clambered to his feet, he glimpsed the army and two chariots out in front, rapidly closing the distance. They would catch him soon.
Shem sped onto the ramp behind the tuskers and his brothers before he turned around. “Father!”
“Keep going. I’ll be right there!”
With a hundred cubits or more to cover, another shaking of the earth caused Noah to fall again. This time he heard a high-pitched scream behind him. The quake had knocked Naamah out of her vehicle, and her beasts sped toward him, as did the other chariot. Its rider lifted a spear and directed it at Noah. Noah knew the face that snarled at him. Nivlac!
“We need him alive!” Naamah staggered to her feet.
Nivlac spun the spear around to swing the blunt end at his target. “You won’t escape this time, Noah! And your whole family will be tortured before your eyes. I have another tree I’m going to sacrifice you in front of.” Nivlac steadied himself and reared back.
As Noah prepared to dart to the side, a deafening crack rang out. A fissure split the ground between Noah and Nivlac, with Naamah’s riderless chariot safely on Noah’s side. Unable to stop in time, the two beasts pulling Nivlac’s chariot attempted to leap over the gap. They barely cleared the opening, but the cart fell short. Nivlac leapt for Noah’s side of the fissure as the weight of the chariot dragged the poor beasts backward off the edge. Nivlac’s arms and shoulders landed above the newly formed cliff. Clambering for a handhold, he found only grass. He called for Naamah’s help just before his hands slipped. He shouted a curse at Noah as he fell into the darkness.
Naamah screamed and glared at Noah. They stood only 30 cubits apart, separated by the gaping crevasse. “Your God can’t protect you forever, Noah!”
“Naamah, the Creator is all-powerful and can do what He pleases. He told me before that I’ll survive this flood, so I know He’ll protect me until that happens. Turn from your evil before it’s too late.”
She turned and shouted for her army to hurry.
The ground shook violently and water rocketed into the sky from the far end of the crack between them. At the same time, the hill with the garden on it exploded and spewed ash and lava into the air.
Naamah staggered. “No! The tree!” She raised her fist to the heavens and screamed, with tears filling her eyes. “Nachash! Hear me. Don’t let the Creator win. Prove that you’re the highest of all gods!”
Noah pitied her. The most powerful person in the world stood powerless before him. “Nachash cannot defeat the Most High. Naamah, forsake your false god and cry out to the Creator while you still have time!”
Enraged, she balled her fists and faced him, her eyes burning with the most intense hatred he had ever seen. “Never! Nachash is the rightful ruler of this world, and I’m his goddess. You will bow to me before I kill you.”
Noah’s heart sank. How could anyone reject the Creator after seeing all that Naamah had witnessed? A jolt of energy ripped through him when he spotted her army drawing nearer. “You’re deceived. Call on the Most High before it’s too late.” He spun toward the ramp and stopped after a few steps because Naamah’s chariot, still hitched to the two creatures, stood in his way. I don’t remember seeing this kind of animal in the ark. He jumped into the cart and the beasts bolted for the ramp.
“No!” Naamah screamed as the first group of soldiers arrived at he
r side. “Make a way across this gap now! And get archers up here immediately.”
As Noah successfully turned onto the ramp, he looked back. Lightning flashed about the blackened sky, sending deafening thunder through the clearing. Two giants stood near the edge of the fissure, and each picked up a soldier and threw him across the chasm. The men landed hard, but they cleared it. Two more soldiers followed. Naamah ordered the huge men to throw her next and the other men to catch her. Meanwhile, groups of soldiers attempted to fashion a bridge with rope and wood. Moments later, Naamah stood on the opposite side and commanded several soldiers to pursue Noah.
Huge drops of rain pummeled Noah as he approached the top of the ramp.
Emzara raced out the door and stopped when she saw him. “Hurry up!” Her eyes grew wide as she saw the carnage below.
“Em, get inside.”
She nodded and then tilted her head to the side when she noticed the animals pulling the chariot. “Looks like we have a pair of those now. They were the only ones missing from my list.”
“I thought they might be.” Noah followed her into the ark and jumped off the cart. “Sons, quickly, the door.”
Emzara worked to unharness the beast closest to her. “Rayneh, get the other one.”
Moments later, Emzara and Rayneh led the two beasts out of the way as Japheth and Ham ran to Noah’s side.
Noah pushed the chariot toward the ramp. “Help me get this out of the way.” Japheth and Ham joined him, and they successfully maneuvered it up against the ramp’s railing and clear of the door’s path as Naamah and several soldiers appeared at the base of the incline.
Pointing to the rope keeping the door open, Ham said, “We have to untie it before we can close the door.”
“I’ll get it,” Japheth said as he headed toward the knot.
Another quake caused the entire ramp to vibrate and shift. Ear-splitting cracks of timber rang out beneath them and another blast of water shot into the sky from the middle of the clearing, launching hundreds of Naamah’s soldiers to their deaths. Many of the soldiers fled toward the woods.