Page 61 of The Guardian's Promise

A soldier and his horse flew across the spring, his face pale with fear. The guard fell from his mount and lay on his back, and arrow embedded in the leather armor. The guard’s eyes stared unseeing, his chest unmoving. With his hand on the hilt of his sword, Ari glanced to see if any other survivors roamed.

“Elam!” Mira hollered. “Elam? Where are you?”

Ari dismounted and splashed into the water. He grabbed Mira’s arms. She shoved him away. She took a step toward the shore and stumbled to her knees. “Elam! Joash, where are you?”

“Here, Mira.” The child touched her shoulder.

“Thank God,” she whispered, dropping her head.

“Mira?” Ari moved toward her again.

She blinked her eyes as if trying to focus. “Ari? Is that you?” She held her free hand out in front of her as if to feel her way.

Ari reached her and pulled her and Joash from the water. “It is I.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Are you well?”

Her hesitation alerted him. He squeezed her tight against him taking joy in the fact that her heart continued to beat.

“What has happened?” Joash asked.

“The queen’s men attacked, but some Philistine warriors helped us thwart them,” Ishiah said as he came upon them.

Mira gasped and pulled from Ari’s arms. “Elam? He was here with us. What has happened to him?”

“Do not fret, Sh’mira.” His father patted her shoulder as if to soothe her.

“If anything has happened to him...” she continued.

“Jesse is checking the area.”

Mira moved completely from his embrace drawing Joash along with her. She fell once again. “Are you well?” Ari asked her once again.

“I do not know, Ari. I cannot see.”

“What is it you mean that you cannot see?” Ari asked with concern.

“I do not know,” she responded. “It’s as if I stared at the sun too long.”

He glanced at Joash. “Can you see?”

The child nodded his head. “When I first saw the fire descending I buried my face against Sh’mira.”

“Fire?” she asked.

“It is quite simple, my child,” his father offered. “The Philistines lit firebrands and shot them with their arrows. You must have stared at the fire.”

“Come, we have no time if you are to make it to Jerusalem before the next wave.” Jesse walked toward them.

“What do you mean?” Ari asked.

“One of the men was alive. He spoke of a traitor among us. Not that you are surprised, brother,” Jesse answered.

No he was not surprised.

“Who?” his father asked, shocked.

“Did you find Elam?” Mira trembled against him.

“No, I did not find him. Perhaps he ran back to camp to gather forces.”

Perhaps, but why would Elam leave their king to the mercies of armed soldiers?

Jesse scratched his bearded chin. “Since I was not able to obtain the name of our traitor, we must make all haste to Jerusalem at once. Before anyone discovers the boy is still alive.” Jesse crossed his arms over his chest in a commanding manner. Ari for once was glad to let someone else shoulder the burdens and take control. He just wanted to hold Mira.

“I will not leave them again,” Ari argued. “And I doubt Jehoiada will listen to anyone but me.”

“That, my dear brother, is why we will all go.” He smiled. “We have horses.” His smile broadened. “Father can ride one. Joash can ride with you, and Sh’mira may ride with me,” he said with an obnoxious grin.

“I think not,” Ari returned.

“Jealous, brother,” Jesse teased.

Ari eyed his sibling. “Never. However, I trust you to keep the child well.” The knowledge that his mission would be complete, sooner than he could have hoped, brought him relief. He guided Mira to one of the horses. He helped her mount and then pressed his lips to her knuckles before climbing behind her.

Chapter Twenty-Six

As if not being able to see clearly had not been bad enough, she found herself tossed onto a beast much larger than the donkey she had ridden from Manna.

Even the presence of Ari could not soothe the nausea building wave upon wave with each jolt of the horse’s hooves. She would have preferred to keep the giant to a simple walk for her first time on its back, although she understood Ari’s urgency.

After the attack she was quite anxious to be done and return home, back to the safety in her father’s house where the most adventurous thing that had ever occurred was a wild dog stealing sheep. However, the sooner she returned there the sooner Ari would be gone from her life. And even though she knew that they could never be together, she was not looking forward to saying their farewells, either.

---