Shimon swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. “We had not ridden far when Uriel appeared before us on the trail. He held you screaming in his arms.”
I turned to my master. “You were there?”
“I also traveled to Jerusalem for the festivals, but I knew my way and did not need your father’s guidance.” Uriel’s eyes never left the fire. “I was ahead on the path when the ram’s horn sounded. I turned back when I heard it. After that, I followed the sound of your cries.”
“Will you continue the tale?” Shimon asked.
“No, you should. Now that you’ve started, he needs to hear it all.”
Shimon nodded. “Your father slipped off the horse and took you in his arms—he could barely hold you, he was already so weak. We heard hoofbeats, and Yoav appeared, bearing down on us with his sword drawn. Uriel stepped in front of your father, and Yoav pulled back to avoid trampling him.
So this was it—the reason I recognized Uriel that first day, the reason I’d felt so on edge when I saw him. He must have visited my nightmares for years. The vision tugged at my mind again, drawing me back in.
“Stand aside,” Yoav screamed.
“I’m going where he’s going,” Uriel replied. “Won’t you kill me as well?”
“King Omri grants you passage, but I have my duty.”
“And I have mine.” Uriel planted his staff firmly on the ground before him. “I have two messages, one for you and one for your master.”
Yoav’s eyes jumped from Uriel to my father to Shimon, who still sat on horseback, sword drawn, then back to Uriel. Outnumbered, Yoav sheathed his sword. “Very well, navi. Give me my master’s first.”
“In two years’ time, Omri will be victorious. Should he turn away from the path of Yeravaum, opening the road and purging idolatry from the land, his will bean everlasting kingdom. Otherwise, his will be as the kingdoms of Yeravaum and Bassa, and dogs will lick the blood of his children.”
Yoav’s face was set like stone. “And the message for me?”
“Ride home to your wife, for the child comes.”
“But it is not yet time!” Yoav’s face faltered. He took a deep breath and straightened on his mount. “It is no matter. The child will come with or without me. I cannot leave my post.”
“The child you will never know, and your wife is already beyond your help. I am offering you a chance to say goodbye.”
Yoav tensed in his saddle. “Goodbye?”
“Goodbye.” Uriel drew himself up to his full height, eyes blazing and voice thundering like Eliyahu’s in Jericho. “As you judged, so are you found wanting. You struck down Yochanan’s wife and son. The lives of your wife and unborn son are forfeit in turn.”
“A son?” Yoav beheld me, wailing helplessly in Father’s arms. “But Yochanan’s son lives!”
“Yes, he lives, but not from your mercy—you left him to die!” Father crumpled to his knees, almost dropping me as he fell. Uriel lifted me from his arms.
Yoav dropped his eyes to the ground. “What if I have mercy on him now?”
“That is not mercy, it is desperation. You think only of yourself, not the child.”
“Then she will die? And my son?”
“So it will be.”
Yoav studied Father’s dying body, his blood raining onto the dry ground. “And what of me? Is my life forfeit for Yochanan’s?”
“Your future is in your own hands. You are a man of strength. Turn your strength inward, conquer your anger, and live.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then your greatest act of valor will be your last. King Tivni will die by your sword, but you will fall as well.”
“Quill,” Father said, his voice raspy. All eyes fell upon the kohen, kneeling in a puddle of his own blood. Uriel retrieved a quill and a scrap of parchment from Balaam’s saddlebag and steadied Father’s hand as well as he could, while Father dipped the quill into the ready pool of red dye at his feet and wrote. “Take,” he gasped, handing the scrap of parchment back to Uriel.
Uriel received the scrap and turned back to Yoav. “Yochanan is dying. Let me take his son to his brethren in Judah.”
Yoav lifted his eyes to Uriel, then turned at the sound of approaching horses. The two soldiers he’d sent after Father’s followers came to a stop behind him. Yoav straightened himself and faced Uriel, the tone of authority returning to his voice. “I have my duty. King Omri allows you to pass, but no one else.”
“Does your duty include killing children, or may he return to his family in Israel?”
Yoav eyed the two soldiers behind him, then turned back to the prophet. “King Omri is just. He does not desire the blood of children. He may return.”
“Shimon, take the child.” Uriel dropped his voice so that Shimon had to bend down to hear him. “Take him to his uncle in Levonah, Menachem ben Yitzchak.” But Uriel didn’t hand me to Shimon, he carried me back to Father. “It is time to say goodbye to your child, Yochanan Hakohen.”
I reached out. Father reached back, not to take me, but to lay his strong hands upon my head. Our eyes met as he blessed me for the last time. He kissed me on the forehead, leaving a small, crimson mark. At the same time, Uriel, whose body shielded me from the three soldiers, tucked the parchment into my garments.
I threw my arms around Father’s neck, not wanting to let go. Even with Uriel still supporting me, my weight was too much for the dying man. The pressure on his chest brought on heaving coughs, each one forcing his eyes closed. “Take him. Don’t let him see me die.”
Uriel tugged, but I screamed, refusing to release my grip on Father’s neck. Uriel pulled my hands apart, drew me away, and cradled me up to Shimon. Shimon placed me straddled on the horse in front of him, but struggled to keep me there as I writhed and screamed, reaching out for Father. “Hold him tighter,” Uriel said. Shimon wrapped a quivering arm around me, pulling me closer into his body, and pinned my arms to my side. “Now ride. He will calm down once we’re out of sight.”
“Wait!” Father called, holding out his knife. “Take this. It is his birthright.”
Uriel passed the knife up to Shimon. I pried one of my arms free and grabbed for it, but Shimon held it out of reach and tucked it into his belt. With a last command from Uriel to “Go!” Shimon kicked the horse, handling the reins in his left hand, my protesting body with his right.
