I stared at Shimon across the fire. “Soft blasts?”
“Yes, soft. It was the softness that alarmed your father. Blasts like that could never be heard all the way in Mitzpah, where the soldiers were garrisoned. As soon as he heard the blasts, he knew it was a trap.”
Father turned back to his followers and screamed, “Run!” He grabbed Mother’s hand and pulled her along behind him, dragging her toward the safety of the border. The pounding of hoofbeats thundered behind us. I saw no horses, but the panic and rush set me squalling.
One of the men following behind screamed, “No, this way,” and ran back into the Kingdom of Israel. The other followers hesitated, then followed their new leader, separating themselves from my family and the border.
Five soldiers broke into the gap between the two groups. Though Mother’s shawl must have blocked my vision of the soldiers, somehow I could still see and hear them in my mind. So, my dreams were not just memories. As Master Yosef said, they must contain a drop of prophecy as well.
The officer leading the small pack of soldiers reined in his steed and surveyed the situation. “The two of you, pursue the large group, but don’t catch them. It’s enough that the dread of King Omri fall upon them.” Two soldiers stalked the group fleeing back into Israel, one banging his sword onto his shield, creating a racket that echoed in the mountain pass while keeping his horse at a relaxed trot. The officer addressed the remaining two soldiers. “You follow me.” He kicked his horse after us.
Father still ran, moving as fast as he could while pulling us behind him. Turning back, he saw that the three soldiers would overtake him before the border. Pushing Mother ahead of him, he yelled, “You run! It’s me they’re after. Save yourself and Lev. Get him to my brother’s family.”
“Yochanan!” She stood frozen as her husband stepped with forced ease back to meet the horses.
“Run, Sarah! If I can follow, I will.” He waited until my mother, with me on her back, began running again toward the border, then walked toward the approaching soldiers. Though armed, he didn’t reach for his knife. Perhaps if he came to them unarmed, not resisting, they’d have mercy on him.
The soldiers pulled up their horses and surrounded him, with their officer mounted squarely between Father and the border. “Why do you pursue me, Yoav?” Father asked.
“But he must have known why,” I insisted.
“Of course he knew,” Shimon replied. “But your mother was still running for the border with you on her back. The longer he could keep them talking, the greater chance she would have to reach safety.”
“Where were you?”
“Hidden. I couldn’t decide which group to follow and found myself stuck in the middle. Just before the horses arrived, I ducked behind a boulder.”
A fiery rage rose against him for not standing by my father’s side. Then I remembered he was only sixteen, not much older than me. I myself ran away from Uriel when the Queen’s soldiers came to take his life. The anger evaporated, and I said nothing, waiting for Shimon to continue.
“You know what this is about, Yochanan,” Omri’s officer said. “I’ve warned you myself against defying the King’s orders.”
“You’ve already won, Yoav. You’ve scared away all those following me. Now it’s just me, my wife, and my son, and we’re leaving Israel, going to join my brethren in Judah.” As he spoke, his eyes flitted between Yoav and my mother, who’d reached the ridge and passed safely into the Kingdom of Judah.
“Oh? Never to return?” Yoav sneered.
“I vow, if you let me go, I will never return.”
A joyless smile spread across Yoav’s face as he drew his sword. “You lie!” The officer drove his weapon forward and Father dove onto the ground to avoid it. He rose to his feet clutching his knife in his hand. Lunging at Yoav, he drove the blade into his leg, just above the knee. Yoav screamed in pain and brought down the hilt of the sword on top of Father’s head, knocking him to the ground. “You never know when to quit, Yochanan HaKohen. The rest of your tribe fled to Judah long ago. They knew it was over for them here, but you refused to go, always defying us. Now your time has come to an end.”
“I’m leaving, I swear. You don’t need to kill me.”
“Did my father intend to return?”
“He was moving you and your mother to a safer place, but he had no intention of abandoning the faithful of Israel. Though now that he was caught, I believe he would have given up on his mission in exchange for his life. I never knew him to break a vow.”
My head fell forward into my hands and tears streamed through my fingers.
“I’m sorry, Lev. I’ve said too much.”
My palms muffled my voice. “No, please. I want to hear.”
My request met only silence.
I raised my face to Shimon’s. “I beg of you…”
“Very well. Your father lay pleading for his life. Then Yoav spoke the words that will bring a chill to my heart until I enter the grave. ‘I’m not going to kill you,’ he said. ‘I’m going to let my soldiers kill you. I’m going to make sure the Kingdom of Israel never has to suffer you or your seed ever again.’ And though by this time your mother had already crossed the border, he kicked his mount after her.”
“And you did nothing? This whole time?” I couldn’t keep accusation out of my voice.
“While Yoav was there, I didn’t dare. I would have been throwing away my life.”
I nodded, hating my judgment. Who was I to question Shimon’s bravery? Yet, when he returned to the tale, I glared at him across the fire, and couldn’t go back into the vision.
“When Yoav rode off, your father howled and chased after him. One of the soldiers slashed at his back, carving a deep gash across his shoulder blade. He collapsed, and the soldier drew back his sword for the final blow, his arm trembling like a leaf. Perhaps in his heart he feared the Holy One’s judgment. His fear gave me courage. I hurled a rock with all my might, striking him in the ear. His thrust missed its target, hitting the ground instead of your father’s neck.
“But now I was exposed. The other rider turned on me—there was nowhere to run. My best cover was the boulder, so I stayed put. Yochanan staggered to his feet, somehow ready to fight. He couldn’t beat a mounted soldier, so he attacked the horse, slashing its throat. It fell over sideways and crushed its rider’s leg against the rocky ground. Your father left him struggling under his mount, and came to help me.
“I was unarmed, so I kept the boulder between myself and the soldier, forcing him to dismount to get at me. The only thing I had to fend off his attack was my sleeping mat, but reed doesn’t hold up for long against iron. That’s how I got these.” Shimon pointed to his face and pulled back his sleeves to show more scars laddered up his arms. My anger with him disappeared now that he’d joined the fight.
“When I saw Yochanan approaching, I screamed as loud as I could. The soldier thought I was yelling out in pain or fear, but I did it to cover your father’s footsteps. I’ll never forget the look of surprise on the soldier’s face when your father planted that knife in his back.”
My hand glided over my leg, feeling the bulge of the knife hidden under my tunic.
“By this time, Yochanan’s tunic was soaked with blood, and he wobbled on his feet. He said to me, ‘Come…Sarah and Lev.’ I seized the soldier’s sword and mounted his horse, pulling your father up behind me.”
Shimon’s bottom lip trembled. He steadied it between his teeth.
“Go on,” Uriel whispered. “He should know this part as well.”
