by Summer Lee
He looked around for Achava. She and her warrior were wrestling outside. He checked to make sure his person was still alive. She was breathing. When Sam realized what he had done, he felt saddened that he had to assault a woman. But he couldn’t let her kill him. Besides, he was still sick from the green powder. He gagged and had dry heaves. It made him so sick that he ran to the bathroom and threw up. The pain in his stomach was unbearable. Was the powder deadly?
Chapter the Sixth
MEANWHILE, ACHAVA LANDED WITH A THUD on the walkway just outside of Sam’s house. Her opponent was in a ready stance over her. She was surprised that the warrior, who stood over her, didn’t attempt to finish her off. She was in the supine position to do so. The green clad woman was testing her. Achava knew what was going on—the woman wanted to know just how good Achava was. Achava smiled as she realized her reputation preceded her.
She rested on the ground and even placed her elbow under her head as she smiled at the warrior. She was sure that it was understood that was a sign of disrespect for her opponent. It meant that she didn’t take the fight seriously. Achava was right. The green clad woman acted defeated.
To add insult to injury, Achava stood up nonchalantly and turned her back on her opponent. She then walked away from the house. She was still feeling the after effects of her recent journey halfway around the world, so she needed time to recover, anyway. Achava also needed to identify what clan of ninjas that the intruders were from.
If the warrior yelled or spoke in any way, she would be from the Turkish clan called the Intikamcilar Iman, or Avengers of Faith. If the green-garbed female said nothing, but let her anger take control to the point where she attacked Achava from behind, then she was from the Serbian clan called the Anđeli of Odmazde, or the Angels of Retribution.
So Achava waited.
The woman’s eyelashes were full with a heavy load of mascara. That seemed odd. There was one possibility for it. If the woman didn’t care about Achava’s act of disrespect, and walked away, feeling no further need to fight, then she was probably from the Arabic clan called هن لورد, or Sentinels of the Lord. If it was that clan, then it would be made up of Christian Arabs and not Muslims. Time would tell.
Achava was so busy thinking about which clan her foe was from, that she didn’t notice her disappear. When she realized she was gone, she thought, Sentinels of the Lord it was. The Sentinels believed that if their opponents lost interest in battle, then it would also be of no interest to them to continue. They wanted fair fights, because they believed themselves to be superior in every way. They didn’t think they could lose a battle, but were not concerned if and when they did. There was no pride or ego in that clan. That would be the one clan that Achava was apprehensive about confronting.
***
Pushing her hair out of her face, Achava went inside to check on Sam. When Achava walked back into Sam’s house, she saw the signs of a struggle in the kitchen. After further examination, she found some blood on the floor tile, but there were no bodies anywhere. She heard a noise of shoes clicking on the tile floor—someone was coming down the hallway, making no attempt to hide the sound of his or her footsteps. It had to be Sam. No one else would have the guts to be heard.
Achava waited for Sam to come around the corner. Frightened, he almost jumped out of his thin frame when he saw her. She laughed. Joy filled his expression once he realized it was her.
“Achava!” Then he looked around suspiciously. “Wait! Are we alone?”
“Would I just be standing in your kitchen, smiling at you if we weren’t alone?” she replied.
He clasped her shoulders and pulled her into his arms. “I’m so happy to see you.”
She lifted her face toward his and kissed him. “I am greatly pleased to see you, too, Sam.”
“You appeared at a good time.” He was smiling from ear to ear.
Achava cocked her head to one side. “Did you beat up one of the Sentinels?”
He looked puzzled, as he released his hug. “Sentinels? What is that, a new ninja group?”
She looked past him to the blood on the floor. Frowning, she led him to the living room. “Actually, they are one of the oldest orders I know. They are skilled female warriors who fight with honor.”
“Really?” Sam had already second-guessed his street fight with the Sentinel. “What exactly do you mean by honor?”
Achava saw something had distressed Sam, just by looking deep into his eyes. “Samuel Godfrey! What did you do to that warrior?”
He shook his head sadly. She saw that he could no longer face his one true love unless he told the truth. “I… uh… I’m not proud of what I did,” he said. “Didn’t you always say that one must win at all costs?”
“What?” She was shocked by his accusation. “I have never said anything of that nature! I ask you again. What did you do?”
“I need to come up with a way to explain what I did, without making you hate me.” He took in a deep breath. “I head butted one of the intruders when she locked me from behind. She’s strong, you know!”
“Alright,” Achava said, as she expected much worse to follow.
“Once she was on the floor,” Sam continued, reluctantly, “I… kicked her in the stomach a few times.” He flinched as if Achava threatened to hit him.
At first she felt no emotion. She tried not to be mad at him, but he made it hard. “Sam! You showed no mercy to a warrior who dedicated herself to showing mercy?”
“Mercy? She tried to kill me!” he responded. He looked around. “Where are those two green women now, anyhow?”
“They’re gone.”
“I first thought they wanted the antique staff, but I heard one of them say something about a sword.” Almost as if prompted, he coughed out a large amount of green dust.
Achava gasped. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. You were just defending yourself.”
“Thank you.”
Achava looked closely at his mouth with great concern. “Did you inhale that dust? Did the warrior you fought blow it in your face?”
Sam looked more than concerned. “Yes! Yes she did. Who are those women? What do they want with me?”
Achava tried her best to hide the lone tear that rolled down her cheek. “They don’t want you, Sam. They want me. Those women are trying to stop me from doing something that I did not even know I was supposed to be a part of. They think that I know something that I don’t.”
“What’s the green stuff?”
“That was… poison.”
“Why did they include me in their plan?”
“You were meant to be a distraction for me, so that I would have to search for the antidote, while they do whatever it is that I am supposed to know about. I’m afraid that we have a limited time to try and save you, before the poison takes your life.”
“Try?” was all Sam managed to say. His face showed fear. “Do more than try.”
She sighed deeply. “I’ll make sure I save you.” She paused and then asked, “Did you say they are looking for a sword?”
“Yes!”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“How?”
“I’ll pack you a bag. We have a plane to catch, because we are going to take a trip.”
Chapter the Seventh
SAM SAT IN HIS SEAT on the aisle and clutched the retractable arms as if his life depended on it. He tried to even out his breathing to no avail. He thought at one point that he started to sweat. He noticed that Achava didn’t seem to be herself. He expressed his heart anyway. “I hate you,” he whispered quietly to Achava, who gave him a reassuring smile. “I feel like I have been kidnapped.”
“This is the only way to keep you alive.”
“Why take this trip?”
“Air really is the safest way to travel,” she replied, trying to calm his nerves. “It is not like it was a surprise. I told you before we boarded that I bought the tickets. At least I didn’t make you buy your own tickets like I did l
ast time.”
Sam felt his face turn pale when he heard the plane’s engines fire up. “I would have rather bought my own ticket on a train, or even a slow boat.”
“We’re going overseas.”
“I would really like to think that you did not forget what happened the last time you and I were on a plane together, going off on some adventure.”
He watched the smile fade on Achava’s face as she responded. “We were on our way to Tel Aviv and there was a Canaanite on board. I did what I had to do to save lives. I did not hear you complain when I saved your life, Samuel Godfrey.”
Sam swallowed hard as he looked out the window past Achava’s head to see that they were moving. “I haven’t been on a plane since I came back to the States. I was happy with the fact that I would have my feet firmly planted on the ground for the rest of my life. I swear if this plane ride ends the same way as the last one…”
He saw that her smile returned. “You will sit back and enjoy this ride just as much as sitting in your recliner at home. As I recall, you were excited the first time. You felt the excitement and the adrenaline rush, just like Professor Salinger did.”
Professor Salinger.
He remembered the sparkle in Salinger’s eyes throughout the entire adventure. He chuckled as he remembered his own sparkle. He looked at Achava with a warm smile. “I also remember that you were a hard ass when we first met.”
She looked confused. “I don’t know about being this hard ass that you speak of, but I had to be tough on you and the professor, because I wanted you to know the danger you were in. That adventure could have been your last.”
It was Professor Salinger’s last.
As the plane lifted off from the ground, Sam knew he had been there before. The search for the Staff of Moses unraveled in front of him as he remembered everything. He felt nauseous as his mind played tricks on itself, by assuming he would be the one not returning from that adventure. The poison that ate away at his insides reinforced that fact.
Achava didn’t tell him what kind of poison it was. Either she didn’t want him to worry, or she really didn’t know.
“Achava,” Sam said, as he almost teared up. “I appreciate the fact that you don’t want to tell me more about the poison. It’s probably better that I don’t know. I also want you to know that I trust you. I like who you are now, as opposed to the person you were before. It’s refreshing to talk to you. I know you don’t like talking about your past or who you are, but if you ever feel the need to open up… I’m here.”
Her eyes welled up.
He saw that she had no idea how to digest what he just said to her. They had reached the east coast. There would be an hour layover in New York. They stayed close to each other, holding hands.
Once they were in the air again, Sam questioned her as to how she got to Texas. She didn’t answer. He decided to remain quiet as they headed for Hamad International Airport in Qatar, Saudi Arabia. He closed his eyes and realized that he had beaten his fear of flying. He thought he was silly for even being afraid. He may have had a horrible experience on the last plane when he flew into another country, but he knew he conquered it.
The plane bumped slightly due to turbulence. Sam’s eyes opened wide and quickly. A high-pitched scream was his only response.
Achava clasped his hand and held it tightly. “I am here for you. Will you trust me?”
“I have no one else. Just you.” She placed a magic pill in his mouth and he felt drowsy. He closed his eyes and was soon asleep. The next thing he knew, the plane landed with a thud.
Chapter the Eighth
ACHAVA TOOK SAM out of the Qatar terminal and quickly led him to the HIA Bus Terminal. She stumbled noticeably several times, but did her best to recover so as not to make Sam suspicious of how serious the situation was.
She was still suffering the side effects of her Soul Merge. Her dizziness and aching body were not going to slow her down. First things first. She had to find out what the Sentinels wanted. She also needed to find out why Itai thought that she was already involved.
She smiled when she saw a small, old Arabic man standing by an older white Ford F-150 with an extended cab. The dark-complected man had a long beard and a wide smile on his face. “Chava!”
“Saeem.”
“Come quickly.”
“I’m coming fast as I can. My friend is ill and needs help.” She tried to run toward Saeem, but almost fell to the ground.
Sam grabbed her. He was quick enough on his feet to catch her. “Are you hurt, Achava? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“That is sweet, Samuel Godfrey,” she replied, as she stood on her own. “You seek to assist me, while you are the one poisoned. I am blessed by God that you are here to look after me.”
She saw Sam smile. He even blushed a little. “I am the blessed one right now. It is worth the discomfort to gaze on your lovely face.”
Saeem held the passenger side door open as Achava took the back seat, giving the front to Sam. Saeem was not patient as his passengers took their seats. “Hurry, please. There may be eyes on us.”
Sam extended his hand. “Samuel Godfrey.”
Saeem just nodded. “I guess you can call me Saeem, the cab driver.”
“Oh Saeem, you are more than that. You are more like a double agent. I apologize if my situation puts you in danger,” said Achava. “The war is serious, I know.”
He quickly ran around the cab. Once inside, he jumped in the driver’s seat and burned rubber out of the terminal. “I am honored,” Saeem said, as he focused on the road. “Despite the current situation of both of our countries, we need to be as ghosts.”
Achava saw that Sam was confused. He didn’t keep up on current events. “Samuel,” she started. “There have been problems, between and Israelis ever since Israel became a nation. There are strict border rules. If I ever get caught in Qatar, I could be executed.”
“What?” Sam was shocked. “Why don’t you ever tell me these things before we get in over our heads?”
“It is best this way.” She laughed. “Except I did not know they were going after you this time.”
“How are we getting to Israel?”
Achava lost any semblance of a smile. “Oh Samuel. The Sentinels of the Lord reside here. This where Itai and his horde are headquartered. We must remain here until we find out what it is that Itai is after and why it concerns me. I did not tell you this, but Itai came to me while I meditated in the Garden of Gethsemane. He basically told me that you were in danger, and you were.”
“Refresh my memory. Who is Itai?”
“He is the enemy. I’ll explain it later.”
Sam tried to put together the story in his mind. “Achava... I remember that happening in a movie I saw on late night TV. This guy was in a feud with this other guy and yet he appeared at the other guy’s home to warn him of an attack on his wife who was several miles away. I wish I could remember the name of that movie! Anyway, the guy at home ran straight for his wife. Sure enough the first guy’s men were trying to kill her, so the husband and wife fought the attackers off. Then they got sidetracked to another subplot to try to find out why the guy warned the husband. They got lost on a trail of false leads, when all…”
Achava and Saeem flinched at the excessive details. “Please, Samuel,” Achava pleaded. “Is there a point to the movie?”
Sam smiled. “Oh yeah. Sorry. The point was that the guy who attacked the husband’s wife, waited until the husband left and then he searched for something he needed where the husband was to begin with.”
Saeem looked at Achava. “I’m afraid that I did not get any of that.”
Achava had a look of realization. “Oh. I did get it. Itai got me to travel half way around the world to save Sam.”
Saeem chuckled. “Must be love.”
“Maybe.” She laughed and patted Sam on the shoulder. “He knew I needed to get to you quickly, Sam. He also knew that I would use the Soul Merge to get to you.”<
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“You used the Soul Merge?” Saeem said, with surprise. “Successfully?”
Achava giggled. “I’d say so.”
“What’s a Soul Merge?” Sam added.
“Answer me first,” said Saeem. “Did you use the Soul Merge successfully?”
“Yes, I used it. I cannot figure out what exactly what went right or what went wrong. But it worked. It was the first time I ever attempted it. I can say that I will never use it again. It took too much out of me.”
“Hm-m.” Saeem rubbed the beard on his chin. “Don’t do that again. You could die.”
Achava seemed distracted. “It was a blessing.”
“That’s also why they poisoned me!” Sam exclaimed. “Maybe they knew how much you care about me and pretended to poison me so that we would go on a wild goose chase looking for the antidote.”
Achava thought about his theory. “It’s possible, but I do believe you have been poisoned. Just maybe not to the extent I thought you were before.”
Sam shook that one off. “Well, they broke my gun and I don’t have a sword.”
Achava’s mouth dropped as her eyes widened. “If you are correct, Samuel Godfrey, then Itai wants something in the Garden of Gethsemane!”
“What’s in the Garden that he would want bad enough to poison me and send you all over the planet?” Sam queried.
Achava thought for a moment. “The Sword of Peter,” she said quietly.
Chapter the Ninth
SAM SAW THE FRUSTRATION on Achava’s face. He knew she was going to suggest something that would end up in them having to separate.
“We must go to Israel,” Achava said.
Maybe I don’t know her as well as I thought.
“The Sentinels call Qatar home and will continue to do so,” she continued. “We are almost 850 miles away from my homeland. I have to get us there as quickly as possible.”