by Summer Lee
She squinted her eyes and saw what was happening.
***
MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE MT. NEBO, CAPTAIN YIGAEL BEN-SHAHAR from the Israeli army, pulled up in his command car, followed by several army jeeps.
Achava saw a look of shock was on his face when he looked at the mountain. What he saw made him jump from the vehicle before it came to a complete stop. He pulled off his sunglasses and allowed the blaring sun to bombard his eyes. He gritted his teeth and watched the last of the tourists flee from Mt. Nebo. The glow only meant that he knew nothing good could come from it. The glow was absorbed back into the mountain and, for a brief instant, there was silence.
His men pulled him back. “What is going on?”
Sam and Achava materialized beside him, but he was unaware of them. Once they got their bearings, they looked at the captain in shock.
“Sam!” Achava whispered. “I think I left the wood inside.”
“It’s okay. This is more important.”
Suddenly, one of Israel’s most famous Biblical landmarks, imploded right before their eyes. The force of the explosion was more than enough to knock down all who were standing around on the ground, including Sam and Achava.
Like a volcano, various sized pieces of rocks were propelled in all directions. Several of the captain’s vehicles were instantly destroyed as if by missiles. His men fled every which way, as the captain stood up and walked toward the crater in the top of Mt. Nebo. He slowly approached and looked over. He said, “All that is left are rocks and a very big hole. Much has been destroyed.”
Achava started to cry over the loss on the mountain. Sam helped her up and held her in his arms. “Sam,” she whispered. “It’ll never be the same.”
“I know,” he replied. He looked at the staff in his hand. “This is all we have left. We are still alive, so we have to move on.”
The twosome watched, as the usually confident captain of Israel’s army, fell to his knees and let out a blood-curdling scream. He then turned toward the married couple. His eyes were glowing red with rage. “You! You destroy Israel in front of my own eyes? I will follow you to the ends of the earth and kill you! I will destroy you, before you can commit any more crimes against Israel!”
“Achava,” Sam said, quietly. “If we ever needed a Soul Merge, we need one now.”
She shook off the effects of being knocked down by the explosion and grabbed her husband’s hand.
Ben-Shahar jumped toward them as she miraculously performed the Soul Merge.
In an instant, all three of them were gone.
Chapter the Third
ACHAVA APPEARED WITH SAM in their home in Dallas, with Ben-Shahar clinging to them.
Instantly, he jumped on Achava, pulling her down. Sam was forced over the sofa, by the captain’s impact against Achava.
Achava immediately defended herself by punching Ben-Shahar on the jaw and chopped him with the side of her hand on the throat. He fell backward, but it didn’t deter him. He jumped at her again with a crazed look and a red glow of rage in his eyes.
She speedily blew him away with a swift swat and cartwheeled to maneuver as far from Sam as she could. She needed to protect him.
Ben-Shahar stood up and fired some sort of heat beam from both of his eyes at Achava. She tried to dodge, but the arc was too wide. When the blast hit her, it knocked her through the glass of the living room window. She fell outside, unconscious.
“Act of war!” Sam yelled, with rage in his voice. Sam climbed over the couch and snarled. “Gotcha.”
It was enough to stop Ben-Shahar for the moment. “What are you talking about? You seek to distract me!”
“No. It’s more than that,” Sam said, twisting Ben-Shahar’s arm behind him. “You’re on United States soil, Mr. Ben-Shahar. And you will pay.”
At the same time, Achava staggered to her feet and came back into the house from the same way she left. She said, “Sam is right. That means, you attacking us, is subject to a whole new set of rules.”
Sam held his hand out to Achava, to prevent her from attacking the now confused Israeli captain. He wanted nothing more than for her to beat their intruder to a pulp, but he wanted to try something first to protect his unborn infant. Sam pushed Ben-Shahar’s arm up his back in a tighter grip. Some cracking noises followed.
“Do you consider yourself a representative of Israel?” Sam asked, while closely watching the captain’s painful expression.
Ben-Shahar appeared to hide his confusion. “Of course! No matter where I go, I am an ambassador of my homeland!”
“Swear by it.”
“What does that matter?”
“Swear.” Sam tightened the grip.
“Okay. I swear.”
“Now that we cleared that up, you are now a sworn representative of a foreign country, attacking two U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. Do you understand the implications of what you’re doing?”
Ben-Shahar laughed. “You seek to fool and mock me? Ha ha! I am not stupid! Achava is anything but an American citizen!”
“I beg to differ,” Sam replied, with confidence. “As soon as she married me, she became a citizen. Don’t you keep up on international laws, Captain?”
Ben-Shahar glanced at Achava, who raised her brow at him with a smile on her face. “What’s your point?” he asked Sam.
Sam raised the staff slowly as he glanced at Achava. “My point is that if you, an ambassador of a foreign country, attack a U.S. citizen on American soil, then you are basically declaring war on the United States. Well, Israel is. Tell me, Captain. What’s worse in your eyes? Israel declaring war against us, or the U.S. declaring war against Israel? Think long and hard before you answer.”
Ben-Shahar looked confused, as if he didn’t know what to think. He looked at Sam and then at Achava, as he lowered his voice. “This is not over. What you have done against Israel has now crossed the line of blasphemy. You damaged something that should not have been able to be ruined. For that, you will pay dearly.”
Sam walked up to Ben-Shahar. “For one thing, we did what we did because we believe it was what God wants. You remember Him. Right? Another thing I would consider if I were you. If we had the power to ruin Mt. Nebo in the matter of minutes, without setting any explosives or any preparation of any kind, I would be very careful as to what we could actually destroy.”
Achava walked up to Ben-Shahar and touched his shoulder. He immediately disappeared.
Sam looked shocked. “Did you just Soul Merge him?”
“Yeah.” She nodded with a smile.
He looked concerned at her stomach. “Are you okay? Did he hurt the baby?”
She laughed. “I love your concern, but we are both fine. Apparently there are some pleasant surprises in the abilities Anthea has given me.” Her expression changed to one of worry. “Sam? What you said about Ben-Shahar being careful about what we could destroy. You weren’t referring to Israel itself were you?”
Sam walked to his wife and embraced her. “That was for his benefit. I know that God would never want us to destroy Israel. It’s too important in the end times. I wanted him to think we had more power than we really do.”
“God has bestowed great power that destroyed empires,” she said with a serious tone. “It has been destroyed before. I don’t think you were too far from the truth, Sam.”
“We aren’t the ones to try,” Sam said. “Not Israel. That is God’s private property on earth.”
“You know, Sam, we need to read the Bible together, so we won’t miss the will of God.” Achava dusted off the Bible and sat down. She patted the seat beside her for him to sit down.
“How about we read the ten commandments?”
“That may be a good idea, considering I have never read them.”
Achava grinned and shook her head as she read aloud: “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. There shall not be for you other gods besides me.
‘You shall not make for
yourself a divine image of any type of form that is in the heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.
‘You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, punishing the guilt of fathers upon their children and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of those hating me, but showing loyal love to thousands of those who love me and of those who keep my commandments.
‘You shall not take up the name of Yahweh your God for a worthless purpose, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who uses his name for a worthless purpose.
‘Observe the Sabbath day to make it holy, just as Yahweh your God has commanded you. Six days you shall work, and you shall do all of your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto Yahweh your God; you shall not do any work, or your son, or your daughter, or your slave, or your slave woman, or your ox, or your donkey, or any of your domestic animals, or your resident alien who is in your towns, so that your slave and your slave woman may rest as you rest. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore, Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath.
‘Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God commanded you, so that it will be good for you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you.
‘You shall not murder.
‘And you shall not commit adultery.
‘And you shall not steal.
‘And you shall not falsely bear evidence against your neighbor.
‘And you shall not covet the wife of your neighbor, and you shall not crave the house of your neighbor, his field or his slave or his slave woman or his ox and his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Peace filled her heart as she read the words from the Holy Book.
“Thank you,” said Sam. “I needed that.” She then prayed for guidance.
They both slept peacefully that night.
Chapter the Fourth
SAM SAT ON THEIR SOFA, the next morning, pushing the Staff of Moses from one hand to another and back again. He thought about what they had done. They practically destroyed a Biblical mainstay. Mt. Nebo.
He didn’t know if he would ever come to terms with how they had finished the job, but that wasn’t the biggest question in his mind.
If that was just the beginning, what will happen for the finale?
Sam and Achava had already elevated their abilities beyond anything prior. Actually God elevated their abilities. Sam just hoped they did not take it too far in their own strength.
He realized that they were now in the same class as Elijah and possibly even Moses himself. He chuckled to himself. If we part a sea, I’m coming back home and going under the covers in bed for three and a half years.
“I believe the expression is, two cents for your thoughts?” Achava came up from behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders.
“Close,” he said, still deep in thought. “A penny for your thoughts. Two cents is what people put in when they give you their advice. You’re getting it though.”
She shrugged. “Is there anything coming off of the staff?”
“No,” he replied, with frustration. “I’m not really comfortable waiting for an artifact to tell us where to go next.”
“I know, Sam,” she said, with a soothing tone in her voice. “It’s not the way I prefer to do things either. It’s been almost an hour since we came home. I can’t think of anything we need to do, to get the staff going.”
“Then we wait.”
“Together.” She lay down on the couch and pulled him down beside her. Covering his face and neck with kisses. “We need to get our minds off work and plan how to raise our child.”
“But you’re not even showing yet.” He laughed, and then put his arms around her, returning her kisses. “So what do you have in mind?”
“Someday we’ll need to shop. But first, we need to clean out your guest room and paint it.” They continued to talk as Achava shared her plans.
When she finally quieted down, she said, “But in the meantime, we must make the world a safer place, so our daughter can learn God’s law in public school.”
Sam nodded, as he sighed. “I still can’t believe what we did to Mt. Nebo.”
“It was our first destination after we met and…”
Sam’s expression went blank as his eyes widened. “That’s it!” he exclaimed.
“What’s it?” Achava asked.
With excitement, Sam jumped up and faced his wife. “We destroyed the room where we found our first artifact together. Right?”
“Yes?” she queried. She then had a look of realization. “Are you saying that we must destroy all of the places we acquired artifacts from? That doesn’t make sense, because the Sword of Peter…”
“No, no, no!” he interrupted. “Remember? Herod’s treasure chamber hidden within Mt. Nebo was the final battle for the staff! If we go in order, then the Sword of Peter led us to Itai Malka’s secret underground museum!”
As soon as he mentioned the museum, the staff started to glow. He looked down at it and smiled as he clasped Achava’s hand with his free one. “Let’s go.”
With a small crackle of golden energy, they disappeared.
***
THEY BOTH APPEARED IN A FAMILIAR CAVERN.
“Blast!” Sam exclaimed. “I knew we were going to the place where we saw the fleece, but you know how I hate being underground!”
Achava showed sympathy. “We won’t be here long, my husband. Just long enough to…”
“Die!” a male voice interrupted from behind them.
They turned to see a robed figure with a hood covering his face. “I am just kidding, of course. I would die from a confrontation with either of you.”
Someone else from their past. Achava narrowed her eyes as she approached the figure. “Kierek?”
He bowed. “Right as rain, warrior.”
Sam tried to search his memory for the figure. “Wait! Aren’t you that guy who sells information?”
Kierek clutched his chest. “You hurt me, kind sir. I am responsible for getting people in touch with things they need. It is my gift and curse in life.”
“You don’t usually travel, Kierek,” Achava said with a suspicious tone. “Why have you come here?”
“I have come to warn you both,” he replied, as he started to circle his hands in the air. “Normally I don’t get involved unless there is something to be gained. My life and freedom are to be gained. Not necessarily in that order, of course.”
The air shimmered around them as figures and shapes appeared in front of them. What they saw was amazing. There was a news broadcast in the shimmering energy before them.
“Is that… CNN?” Sam asked, as he looked closer.
Kierek smiled. “I can get over a thousand channels free of charge! A bargain in any country.”
Sam and Achava looked shocked, as the image of Ben-Shahar appeared.
“Why can’t we hear it?” she asked, impatiently.
“Oh, sorry,” Kierek responded, as he snapped his fingers and the volume came on.
“…of the Israeli Defense Forces. I have served my country religiously and have never seen anything as blasphemous as this.”
“Is he talking about Mt. Nebo?” Sam queried.
Achava nodded as she motioned for him to continue to listen.
“I cry for Israel now during this act of terrorism. We know that the terrorist known as Achava has recruited from the United States, a professor named Samuel Godfrey. They have stolen several artifacts of extreme Biblical significance over the past several years. We tried to approach them in peace and this is how they repaid us. On their first venture together, they kidnapped a noted American professor. Albert Salinger crossed the Israeli border never to be heard from again. Israel begs the world to help us stop these terrorists. Look at their capabilities!”
Sam and Achava looked a
t each other, and then in horror, as the camera swung around to show the crater on top of Mt. Nebo. There had to be thousands of people kneeling by the edge of the crater, praying.
“There was no need for anyone to attack this Biblical treasure. Even our enemies do not go after our heritage,” said the newsperson.
“Captain Ben-Shahar. Do you believe that this is the end of the threat?”
Ben-Shahar looked into the camera, as if he was looking right at Sam and Achava. “The Israeli government and I do not believe this will be the only attack. With an American involved, we can only speculate how much damage will be caused before the terrorists are stopped. We plead with the countries of the world to see this heinous and deliberate terrorist act! Help us, before they destroy us completely! This is just the beginning!”
A young woman stepped into the camera shot. “The U.N. is conducting their own investigation to verify what Captain Ben-Shahar has just stated. He has the full backing of the Israeli government, which carries a lot of clout with the investigation. The United States has offered their assistance, as they attempt to contact Professor Samuel Godfrey. Before terrorist charges can be filed, there must be conclusive evidence. Of course, looking at this crater, where a once symbolic mountain stood, is proof enough for some people. Angela Halliwell. CNN News.”
Sam dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands. “Oh my God!”
The vision faded and Kierek stepped back.
“You were right to bring this to us, Kierek,” Achava said, in a comforting tone. “Perhaps if we come forward and explain ourselves…”
Sam’s head popped up. “Are you serious? I know you have this thing about you, where you believe the best of people and all that, but this is not something you can just explain away! The media has a way of making their viewers sway the way they want them to. Ben-Shahar kept repeating the term terrorist, to make it sink in that is what we are. Once that word is used, people get defensive and only see one thing. Getting caught is the last thing we can do!” He thought of something and smacked his hand against his forehead. “My parents! Oh, man.”