Forbidden

  “Where did you hide it?”

  “In my undergarments.”

  As she spoke the words, a group of horseback riders suddenly swarmed from the fissures of the stone walls as if they had been flushed out. The canyon men wore thick swaths of black over their faces, and the earth thundered with the noise of galloping horses.

  Behind me, my father gave a shout, and Kadesh wheeled his camel, flew down the line, and scooped me up from my spot on the trail, shoving me brusquely into the litter. “Stay hidden and do not speak,” he said swiftly, his eyes gazing sternly into mine.

  I grasped Leila’s hand just as the pack of riders formed a circle, completely enclosing us.

  Leila moaned softly. “What will they do if they see us?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  Sweat crawled down my back as I peered through the curtains. The men had ragged, wild hair and dusty, belted tunics that draped to their ankles. Swords and sabers dangled in plain view, and only their eyes showed above their facecloths, flinty and suspicious.

  Black and chestnut horses glistened with foam. I watched my father ride past the litter, purposely slowing Bith’s pace, his hand caressing her neck.

  “We’re on our way north to Tadmur,” he said in a steady voice. “Hoping to pass through these beautiful lands peacefully.”

  “Peace is only for our brothers,” the largest horseman declared. The rest of the Edomites laughed, which only made our camels skittish.

  “We are of the tribe of Nephish,” my father said.

  Ignoring him, one of the horsemen turned to stare at the litter as if he could see my face behind the curtain. I fell back, hoping he couldn’t sense our presence.

  Beside me, Leila was silently weeping, terrified that these strange men wouldn’t honor the desert code of leaving women and children alone.

  “We’ve traveled for many days and need water,” my father continued. “My children will die of thirst.”

  This plea was met with stony silence.

  “I’m a poor nomad with a dwindling herd,” my father persisted. “After we water our animals, we’ll disappear from your lands and leave you in peace.”

  “You’re a liar, man of Nephish,” the leader said, pointing to Kadesh. “This man is not poor. Look at his cloak. In fact, he’s not your kin at all.”

  “You speak the truth,” my father said quickly. “This man isn’t my kin, but a blood brother indeed. He’s given his loyalty to help me take my family into the north to join my tribe.”

  “We wish no trouble,” Kadesh added. “I’ve passed through this canyon before and always found the Edomites welcoming and peaceful. Is there a man named Chemish here? He and I are like brothers.”

  The leader’s face cracked with a sly grin. “Unfortunately for you, Chemish is away.” He galloped off a short distance, forming a tight circle with the rest of his band as they began to confer among themselves.

  My father and Kadesh give each other long, sober looks, and I didn’t move an inch. After what seemed an eternity the horsemen galloped back.

  “Tell us who will be drinking our water,” the leader demanded.

  My father sat straight, not willing to be bullied, but not ready to flee either. “My name is Pharez. The Nephish are a peaceful nation and don’t war with any.”

  One of the men smirked. “Perhaps that’s why you have so few camels! A good raid would make you a richer man.”

  “Perhaps,” my father conceded.

  “We have a well with clean, good water, man of Nephish, but it comes with a price.”

  “Name your price.”

  “Your two best camels. And the gold he carries,” he said, pointing to Kadesh.

  My father was visibly startled. “He carries no gold.”

  Kadesh didn’t speak to confirm or deny the statement.

  Two of the horsemen swung down from their mounts and walked the line of camels, appraising them. To lose two of our camels would be devastating. The price for water was robbery. It was well known that the Edomite well was one of the best water sources on this side of the Assyrian desert. Depths of water that nobody had ever been able to measure. There was enough for the Edomite citizens, and more to spare.

  “I want this camel,” one of the men shouted. “The one carrying the litter.”

  Before we could hide under a blanket, the man threw back the curtain. “This poor man carries more valuables than he admits.”

  The leader and two of his bodyguards galloped closer. He pushed aside the curtains and studied me and Leila as I clenched my sister’s hand. The man’s broken nose filled his face, and deep, furrowed lines ran the length of his cheeks. His teeth were cracked and poor, but he was probably no older than my father.

  Fear crossed my father’s face as he galloped over to the litter and pushed himself in front of the leader.

  “Get aside!” one of the bodyguards yelled, shoving him over with the blunt end of a spear.

  “These are girls, my daughters!” my father cried. “Not women. Not slaves. Leave them alone, or I will kill you myself.”

  I was stunned to hear him speak like this.

  The Edomite leader laughed. “Get out of the litter and let me have a look.”

  Father moved in closer, a terrible expression on his face as though he might attack the man. “Don’t, Father,” I whispered, plucking at his sleeve. “Leila and I can’t survive without you.”

  I cringed, shooting a quick glance at Kadesh. His face was pale under the shadows of the red rock walls and his expression had turned to stone. I could tell he was furious, but not afraid.

  Leila began to weep as we climbed out of the carriage so that it could be untied from our camels. I watched, brokenhearted as the camel was led off, hissing and biting and fighting at the halter rope.

  “May the men of Esau lose a finger to her temper,” I muttered under my breath.

  Their leader laughed as he jumped down from his horse and pressed up close to my face. “You’d better watch your tongue, girl, or I’ll cut it out from your mouth.”

  I gave him an icy glare, and my heart thundered inside my chest.

  The Edomite swaggered across the last few feet, staring at us, his eyes raking over our frames. “You call them children, but they look like women to me.”

  “They’re unmarried, and will remain so for more than a year,” my father replied.

  I was surprised to hear my father say this since my marriage to Horeb was much more imminent, but immediately I realized that he was trying to make it appear as though we were younger than we were.

  “You’re lying, camel herder, just like you’re lying about your friend over there,” the man spit back, jerking a finger toward Kadesh.

  “They are my daughters, and they’re staying with me!” Father shouted. “How dare you break the code of the desert and defile a man’s daughters in front of him.”

  I could hardly breathe as the filthy Edomite stuck a fat finger in my face. I shuddered at the touch of his skin as he drew it along my cheek and neck. His eyes ran up and down my body.

  I wanted to spit in his face, and hurl a thousand insults. If he tried to kidnap me and take me off to one of the caves nearby, I’d kill him before he could drop his sword belt.

  “It’s obvious they’re ready to wed. We can arrange that right now. I have several willing men.” His meaning slammed into my mind with horror. I’d kill myself before I let that happen.

  The next instant, my father had his knife under the man’s throat. “You will die before you touch my children. I will gladly die—and I will kill my daughters—before I let you touch them.”

  Before I could take another breath, the two bodyguards had my father in their grip, a dagger to his throat and a second aimed at his heart.

  His knees buckled as he crashed to the ground. “Father!” Leila screamed, and her cries echoed off the canyon walls. A second later, Kadesh was on the other side of me, his sword drawn, the tip of it poised along the Edomite’s neck.
“Is it your day to die?” he spit out.

  The sour odor of the leader’s skin scraped across my face. Dried sweat reeked on his clothes. “You touch me, stranger,” he drawled, “and the rest of my men will kill you all before you’ve drawn your next breath.”

  The world turned sluggish, reeling before my vision. I saw us all brutally murdered right here on the hard rock floor. But Kadesh didn’t move a muscle. “It’s up to you how this turns out,” he told the man.

  Several moments passed, and the world swam before my eyes. I gritted my teeth, knowing our lives hung in the balance. The grief of my mother and baby brother, as well as the taxing journey, had taken its toll. My father appeared ready to succumb to our deaths. Leila’s eyes rolled back in her head as she gripped Kadesh’s arm with her fist.

  “Don’t bring shame and death to your tribe,” I said slowly, holding the Edomite’s gaze and digging deep into his black heart. “If we do not travel safely through these lands, our tribe will return to avenge us. And there are not enough of you to fight them. You will lose.”

  The leader gave a sudden bark of a laugh. “It seems we have a draw, camel herder,” he spit between his fat lips.

  Not trusting him, neither my father nor Kadesh moved. Finally, the two bodyguards lowered their weapons and my father cautiously did as well.

  “Back off,” the Edomite leader grunted to his men. “I’ll let your children off this year, but if you come through here again, your daughters will belong to me.”

  I shuddered and my legs failed me. My father gripped my shoulders to keep me on my feet, but Leila crumpled to the ground beside me. Kadesh quickly put an arm around her, easing her down before she hurt herself.

  I watched him press a hand to her brow as he whispered words I couldn’t hear. Leila’s eyelids fluttered open and she stared into Kadesh’s face, whispering something in return. I strained to hear, but couldn’t. Then Leila clutched at the sleeve of Kadesh’s cloak and I silently begged her to rise to her feet on her own.

  Finally, I turned away, unable to watch Kadesh holding my sister’s hands as he lifted her up again. My heart was pierced through. I couldn’t seem to draw a full breath. I was a selfish sister. I had no rights to Kadesh. He was a stranger and would be on his way home within weeks. After his departure, I’d never see him again. These starry-eyed notions of mine were silly and vain.

  “Get the other camel!” the leader shouted to my father and, within moments, our second-best female, Pela, was untied from the camel train. Grimly, I watched as she was taken away. There was no recourse, no argument. We were soundly outnumbered.

  Before any of us could move again, three men shoved Kadesh to the ground, holding him at knifepoint. “Don’t move!” one of them yelled, his knee in Kadesh’s back. “Now show us your hidden gold, or you’re dead.”

  My mind went straight to the bag of frankincense tied to Kadesh’s chest under his shirt, the last thing he’d want discovered.

  Squatting in the dust, a sword at his neck, Kadesh began to remove his leather shoe. I held my breath, knowing it was only a matter of moments before he’d lose everything he possessed, and we would lose the security Kadesh gave my family.

  He turned the first shoe over and several pieces of coin fell to the ground. It was a small pile, but even I could see that the coins were solid gold. I gasped in surprise, wondering what else Kadesh had hidden on himself.

  Leila leaned in close to whisper, “Where did he get that gold!”

  The tribesmen dropped from their saddles to snatch up Kadesh’s other shoe. One man shook it greedily, feverishly, but nothing fell out. Kadesh held up his hands to show that they had taken everything he had.

  “If it will help you more than me, then you are welcome to it,” he said simply, but I could hear the strain in his voice.

  The Edomite men shouted with glee and clapped him on the shoulders, flickers of respect in their eyes. I let out the breath I was holding as the search ended and Kadesh’s frankincense went undiscovered.

  “You’ve struck a fine bargain, Pharez, son of Nephish,” the leader said. “The well is one mile from here, just off the main road. Use what you need, but be gone at dawn.”

  The riders climbed onto their horses and galloped off, dust creating a red haze as they disappeared into the canyons, our two mare camels tied to the rear horses. The loss was bitter indeed. Runa and Pela were more than riding animals, and more than pets. Our camels were life itself.

  “Ride Meela, Jayden,” my father told me quietly as he and Kadesh heaved some of the baggage off the younger camels and rearranged the loads. “And Leila, you ride Tazr.”

  We were down from ten camels to eight now. Barely enough to get us to the oasis—if nothing else happened along the trail. I climbed onto the skittish young camel, and my vengeful desires were soon replaced by another as I held a hand to my mouth and tried to swallow past my parched mouth. One mile until water.

  Leila had begun to cough, choking on the dust left by the departing riders, but now our camels picked up their pace. Whether they sensed that water was near or wanted to be rid of the uneasy spirits in the canyons, I didn’t know, but before long the well was within sight.

  I let out a cry and slid down the back of Meela’s haunches without waiting for her to lower her neck. Racing to the hole in the ground, I began to scrabble in the dirt, pulling off the big, flat rocks that covered the well, and trying to heave them aside. Now that it was so near, right underneath me, thirst was making me crazy.

  “Easy, easy,” Kadesh murmured, lifting my hands away so he could pull off the heavy stones.

  Sweat poured along the inside of my dress. My arms were covered in a layer of reddish dirt, the soles of my feet hard and black. Perhaps that’s why the horsemen had finally left Leila and me alone. We weren’t very appealing after so long on the trail.

  But now I could smell the water, it was so close.

  Sand crusted the surface and Kadesh went to work scooping out the dirt and rocks. He moved with a speed that surprised me.

  “Maybe you are of the desert,” I told him. “You know exactly what to do.”

  Kadesh gave me a grin, making me dizzy. “Now that’s a compliment I’ll gladly accept. With all my travels, I’ve probably uncovered a few hundred wells in my lifetime.”

  Quickly, I fetched the waterskins, and for the next two hours, my father and Kadesh took turns pulling up water to fill the buckets for the camels to drink.

  It was fresh water, clear, clean, and cool. I could have jumped right into the well itself and not grown tired of drinking and swimming and bathing for hours. Sitting back on my heels, I wondered if my thirst could ever be quenched, but by the time I was finished, my stomach was so swollen I wasn’t sure I’d ever eat again.

  One by one the camels gorged on the sweet water and then wandered off, bellies distended. They picked at the ground, nibbling on roots or a bit of grass. Scrub brush and grass were beginning to bloom. A good sign that the bounteous northern lands were getting very close.

  I pulled up one last bucket and dipped my hands into the exquisite liquid, splashing my face to erase the days of dust and heat. It was so marvelous I started laughing with the pleasure of it. After I finished washing my hands, I poured the rest of the bucket over my head to wash my hair and dress, then poured a second just to be sure I was completely clean again.

  I hauled a third bucket of water for Leila to wash as she lay in the shade at the canyon wall. Leila was becoming frightfully thin. It would be wise to rest next to her, but after drinking and bathing I became restless and started wandering the trail, my mind turning toward the relief of seeing Aunt Judith and Grandmother Seraiah soon, as well as Hakak and her younger sister Falail. But I also dreaded giving them the bitter news about my mother and Isaac and Sahmril.

  Soon, I found that I had wandered far from the well. I was alone in a narrow alleyway of stone, so long I couldn’t see the end of it. Only twists and turns of red cliff walls everywhere I looked, the sk
y a sliver of blue canopy overhead.

  I touched the pink and violet colors embedded in the flat rock corridor, running my fingers along the cracks. The rocks were cool. Hardly any heat seeped into these tightly enclosed spaces. At one point, the two walls of rock were so tight and narrow, sunlight barely managed to worm its way through. It was dizzying and wonderful.

  Near the end of the passage, the path opened up into a large space, like the courtyard of a palace. In fact, the solid wall in front of me looked just like a gate to an ancient world.

  I was slowly walking, taking in the beauty of my surroundings, when the sound of a male voice made me gasp. “It’s stunning, isn’t it?”

  I turned to find Kadesh standing behind me. I placed a hand against the stone wall as it sloped upward to a series of caves, trying to keep my balance on the uneven path. Kadesh reached out to help me cross the broken stones. I shook my head, an unearthly pounding taking place inside my chest at the sight of his sun-browned fingers, the way the rich weaving of his cloak fell in folds along his arm. “Will you never get tired of frightening me?”

  “Actually, you startled me,” he said. “I’ve been sitting here admiring the rock formations when I heard you coming.”

  “Then I’ve interrupted your solitude.”

  “I don’t mind at all. I’m ready for some company,” he said, gesturing for me to sit.

  I shook my head, acutely aware of how close he was. His hands were on his knees, dark hair falling in waves along his shoulders. I wondered how soft his hair would be if I were to touch it, and I shivered in the shade of all that stone, my own hair still damp from its washing.

  “How can I enjoy the magnificence of this spot while you stand there like an awkward gazelle?” he asked.

  “So I look like a gazelle?”

  “That’s a good thing,” he added with a teasing smile.

  “I’ll sit, but only for a moment.” I sank to the rock, inching as close to the edge as I could manage, but I could still sense each one of his breaths next to me. Still smell the spicy fragrance of his skin. I pointed up at the gate-like cliffs. “Do you think it’s possible to climb up there?”