Among the Gods (28 page)

“I’m nearly forty years old, Zerah. Don’t you think it’s about time I had an heir?”

“Your father was forty-two when you were born.”

“Look, I’m sorry I mentioned it to you. I can see that you’re not the one to help me find a concubine. I’ll ask my secretary to find—” “You’re making a big mistake.” Zerah’s voice was so ominous, so menacing, that Manasseh froze. With all of the upheaval in his nation, the last thing he needed was for Zerah to turn against him, too. Zerah had great power at his disposal—evil power.

“You’re right,” Manasseh said after a moment. “Maybe I am being a bit hasty about this.” He drank the remainder of his wine in one gulp. “Will you help me seek omens to determine the best time to father an heir?”

Zerah smiled coldly. “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

21

“A
SSYRIA HAS INVADED
E
GYPT
?” Joshua asked in disbelief. He read through the message from Pharaoh Taharqo a second time, still unable to believe what he was reading. Comprehension dawned slowly, and with it came a growing impatience. “They’ve finally done it. The Assyrians have marched into Egypt.”

Prince Amariah nodded glumly as he shifted on his throne. “And my orders from Pharaoh are to be prepared to mobilize the Elephantine garrison. We have to be ready to defend the nation at a moment’s notice.”

“Pharaoh should have seen this coming,” Joshua said. “The Assyrians made vassals out of all the smaller nations in their path. No other enemy stands between them and the Egyptian border.”

“Sit down, Joshua. You’re making me nervous pacing around like that.” Amariah gestured to the seat beside his throne.

Joshua sank into it reluctantly. The audience hall seemed dark and oppressive to him, the space too small and confining to contain his restlessness. “I don’t want a government position, Amariah. I don’t want to sit here on Elephantine Island now that we’re at war. Pharaoh asked for all able-bodied men. I want to train with the others. I want to fight.”

Amariah sighed. “When we moved here all those years ago and I pledged to fight for Pharaoh and Egypt, I never imagined that we would actually have to do it. Judah is one of Assyria’s vassal states. That means if we get called to war, we’ll be fighting against our own nation.”

“No, we’re fighting
for
our nation. When Pharaoh wins, when we push the Assyrians back to the other side of the Euphrates, we can march into Judah and set it free.”

“I thought you’d finally given up your desire to avenge Manasseh.”

“I did. But I’m not manipulating events this time. I’m just taking advantage of the opportunity God is providing. It’s all coming together at last, can’t you see? This is what we’ve been waiting for all these years.”

“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself and ahead of God. Let’s wait until the Assyrians are defeated before we plan our strike against Manasseh.”

“Fine. But in the meantime I want an army commission. I can handle a regiment, I’ve kept up my reserve training, and if I drill every day for the next few weeks—”

“You don’t have to convince me, Joshua. I know you’re an able commander. But why do you want to go to war? You’re forty years old; you have a wife who needs you. Stay here and help me govern the island.”

He shook his head. “I’ve been waiting too long for this opportunity. I have to fight!” He stood again, unable to remain seated.

“How long do you think it will take to mobilize all the men?” Amariah asked, but Joshua ignored his question as a sudden fear shot through him. He turned to face the prince.

“I don’t want Nathan to go. If we get called to fight, promise me you’ll use your authority to have Nathan assigned to the home guard. Miriam needs him.”

“But Nathan is—”

“I’ll train, I’ll gladly go to war … but not my son.”

“What about Nathan’s wishes? He isn’t going to be content to stay home while all his friends go to war.”

“I know I’m being selfish, but I can’t help it. I don’t want to lose him. Suppose he was your son? Suppose Gedaliah was old enough to go?”

“You know that a royal son would never be called to fight. I’ll never face that choice, so I can only imagine how you feel. But in fairness to Nathan, I can’t—”

“You have three more sons besides Gedaliah and two daughters. Nathan is the only son I have. Please, Amariah. Don’t make me beg.”

He saw the prince’s reluctance in his furrowed brow, heard it in his hesitant voice. “I’ll talk to his commanding officer,” he said at last, “and see what I can do.”

All afternoon Joshua pondered the best way to break the news to Miriam that he had volunteered to go to war with the Elephantine Island garrison. He decided, after the evening meal, to walk with her to visit Jerusha’s grave. A gentle breeze from the river swept the night air clean, and a radiant moon rose above the palm trees, making it difficult for Joshua to comprehend that his adopted country was already at war far to the north. He tightened his arm around his wife’s waist as he looked down at his mother’s grave.

“God answered your prayers, Miriam. I think I understand why God took Mama.” She waited, standing utterly still. “The Assyrians have attacked Egypt. God knew Mama couldn’t face another invasion. She had already been through enough with the Assyrians for one lifetime.”

“Will they come this far south?” Miriam asked after a moment.

“It’s very unlikely.”

“Then what else aren’t you telling me?”

He marveled at how well she knew him, how easily she could read his moods. And he knew her well enough to know that his decision was going to cause her a great deal of pain. “I’ll be given a commission. I’m going to fight.”

“You
have
to go? Or you
want
to go?”

“Both.”

“I see. And if Mama was still alive, would you have gone to war?”

He hesitated, seeing where Miriam was leading him. “The Assyrians were her lifelong enemies,” he said slowly. “She couldn’t have endured the thought of losing me to them.”

“But I can?”

He caressed Miriam’s cheek as if trying to smooth away the pain and anger he saw on her face. “Miriam, nothing is going to happen to me. I know because I can see God’s plan so clearly in all of this. King Manasseh is Assyria’s ally. Once we’ve driven the Assyrians back to Nineveh, Judah will be ours. We can all go home.”

“We
are
home,” she said softly. Her eyes filled with tears. “Joshua, please—”

“Don’t!” He quickly covered her lips with his fingers. “Don’t ask, Miriam. You know I would do anything for you, but please don’t ask me to stay here. I have to fight. I have to.”

Her tears spilled down her cheeks. “But who’s going to take care of you this time? Who will watch out for you and save your life? I can’t come with you like I did all those other times.”

“God will watch over me … and over you.”

She closed her eyes and shuddered, then opened them again a moment later. “Maybe this is why my legs have never healed. Maybe God wants to keep me on my knees.”

Nathan bristled with excitement as he hurried up to the barracks with his friend Saul. “They said our assignments would be posted this afternoon. I hope we’re together.”

“Are you sure we’ll actually get to fight the Assyrians?” Saul asked. “Aren’t we too far south to be called into battle?”

“Listen, I’m not supposed to know this,” Nathan said, “but I overheard Prince Amariah talking out in our courtyard last night and—”

“You were eavesdropping?”

“Yeah, so what. He said the Assyrians are pounding the Egyptians. Pharaoh’s troops are getting pulverized. They’re desperate, and they’re sending for every man they can get.”

“So we’ll get to see some action?” Saul asked.

“Guaranteed. They’re mobilizing all the troops, including our regiment.”

“I was beginning to think we’d never be real soldiers. We’re finally going to get off this island and fight!”

“We’ll chase those heathens all the way back to Nineveh!” Nathan vowed.

When they reached the barracks, a crowd of soldiers had already gathered near the wall where the assignments had been posted. One by one, Nathan’s fellow recruits cheered as they read the listings, as eager as he was to enter the battle. Saul, who was a few inches taller than Nathan, craned his neck for a closer look.

“Hey, your father has been given a commission. He’s the commanding officer of my regiment. But I don’t see your name here.”

“They wouldn’t put me in his unit. Let me see.” Nathan elbowed his way to the front and quickly scanned the lists of names. Then he read them again. He couldn’t find his name on any list. “Hey, what’s going on?” he shouted.

“I found it,” Saul said, “over here.” He pointed to a list that was pinned separately from the others. Nathan saw his name, then read the heading on the top of the page in disbelief.

“Home guard! They can’t do this to me!” He unleashed a stream of curses.

Saul tried to lead him away as everyone turned to stare. “Shh … calm down, Nate. If our commanders hear you, they’ll—”

“I don’t care! What more can they do to me? They’ve already denied me a chance to fight! And I’ll tell you right now, I’m not going to take it!”

“Nathan, wait. Don’t do something stupid.”

But in his fury Nathan was beyond reason. He stormed into the barracks and tracked down his former drill instructor, taking the man by surprise as he confronted him.

“Why did you assign me to the home guard? How could you do this to me? I don’t deserve the home guard! I’m every bit as good as the other guys, and you know it!”

“We need good men to guard the home front. It’s an honor—”

“I want to fight! Reassign me!”

“Those are your orders, Nathan. A good soldier obeys without question.”

“You know as well as I do that the Assyrians will never get this far south. I’ll never get a chance to fight. Change my assignment
now
!”

Nathan’s angry demand seemed to push the drill instructor over the edge. He swiftly crossed the room and shoved Nathan against the wall, planting his hand on his chest to pin him there. “You watch the way you talk to me! Right now you’re dangerously close to a charge of insubordination!”

Nathan barely resisted the urge to fight back. The man finally released him. “Just for the record, I had nothing to do with your assignment. In fact, I recommended you as a squad leader.”

“It was Colonel Simeon, wasn’t it? I’ll bet he’s behind this. He never forgave me for what happened at the Feast of Pentecost. He thinks I’m a bad influence—”

“That’s enough!” the man shouted. “Colonel Simeon had nothing to do with it, either.”

“Then why won’t they let me fight like everyone else?”

The instructor hesitated. “I like you, Nathan. You’re a fine soldier, but you have a rotten temper, and I don’t want you to get yourself into trouble over this. I’m going to tell you where the order came from, but only so you’ll see why you’d better drop it, understand?” Nathan waited. “Prince Amariah made the request.”

Nathan felt as if all the air had been punched from his lungs. He knew then that Joshua had requested the assignment. He was so stunned, so furious, he couldn’t speak.

“Are you okay, son?” the drill instructor asked. Nathan barely nodded. “As I said, it’s an honor to be assigned to guard the prince. He asked for you personally, and—Hey, where are you going?”

“Home.” Nathan stormed from the barracks, jogging through the streets, his fury mounting.

He found Joshua in the rear courtyard of their house, sharpening his dagger on a whetstone. To see him preparing for war, eager for it, made Nathan angrier still. Joshua looked up in surprise as Nathan slammed the outside gate behind him.

“You pulled strings, didn’t you? You got me assigned to the home guard!”

Joshua carefully slid the dagger back into its leather sheath before answering. “Yes, I made the request,” he said quietly. “They didn’t have to honor it, but even your commanding officer saw the wisdom in—”

“Because I’m a rebel? A thief? Am I going to carry those labels around for the rest of my life?”

“Calm down, son. Your past had nothing whatsoever to do with this decision.”

“Like blazes it didn’t! You’re afraid I’ll ruin discipline and lead everyone astray or maybe damage your precious reputation again.”

Joshua lowered his voice. “I asked for you to be posted here partly for Miriam’s sake. She’s raised you since you were a baby. If she lost you—”

“She has Mattan. He’s too young to go. I want to fight!”

“Nathan, I also asked for my own sake. You’re my only son. Who will carry on my name if anything happens to you?” He tried to rest his hand on Nathan’s shoulder, but he twisted away.

“I don’t really care what happens to your stupid name. Either change my orders so I can fight, or else I’m leaving right now. I’ll join one of Pharaoh’s other regiments on the mainland. I’ve finished my training; they won’t turn me away. That’s your choice!”

“Why does everything have to be a confrontation between us? Why can’t you try to understand me? Or understand why I asked for this?”

“Why should I bother when you make no attempt to understand me? Now, thanks to you, I’m going to be stuck here on this stupid island for the rest of my life.” Nathan was angry enough to punch Joshua, but he knew from past experience which one of them would win that fight.

“I used to hate it here, too,” Joshua said, “but once I saw that it was God’s will—”

“Let me fight!” Nathan shouted.

“You could be killed, Nathan. Many of our men will be. The Assyrians are highly skilled warriors.”

“I’m already dying here. Suffocating! Fighting is the one thing I’m good at. Let me go! I’m tired of living in your shadow. Let me have a chance to make my own name, to see who I really am.”

“You already have a name and an identity as my son, as part of my father’s family and his father’s family. You’ve had that identity ever since I gave you my name.”

“I’m
not
your son!” Nathan knew how much those words would hurt Joshua, but he took aim and fired them as his only remaining weapon. “You’re not my father! Change my orders or say good-bye to me.”