Caleb Vigilant (Chronicles of the Nephilim) (17 page)

He
stumbled toward Caleb, still off balance, bleeding profusely from his Rahab-inflicted gashes, with one hand holding his neck wound. He knew he was done for as a warrior. The damage this insect did to him was significant. He would no longer be the leader of his people. They might even execute him out of mercy for his weakness.

He had no weapon, no balance, and only one useless arm ripped to shreds by the whip sword. But he still had his twelve hundred pounds and that was enough to extinguish the life of this dirty little
Habiru.

Caleb was beat up by his landing on the ground. He turned in time to see Ahiman approaching him. But he had no javelin, no
sword, and no protection. He was flat on his back and disoriented. He barely had enough sense left in him to realize that this roaring giant was lunging at him in the air.

He
could not think straight enough to move. But his warrior instinct did.

Caleb rolled out
of the way and was missed by inches as the ground quaked with the weight of the gigantic hulk landing in the dust.

After
Caleb rolled, he pulled out the dagger he had stashed in his belt. It was his wife Rahab’s secret dagger he had retrieved from the smoldering ruins of his camp back in Gilgal.

He leapt onto the back of the humongous monster, sliced the other carotid artery on the other side of his neck and jammed
the dagger into the base of his skull up into his brain.

A loud screeching cry of death escaped Ahiman and the entire Anakim army knew that their champion was dead.

Caleb was huffing with the exhaustion of the fight. He leaned into the ear of his nemesis and whispered, “Compliments of my wife, you filthy serpent seed.”

He had been holding onto the dagger for just this very
purpose since the kidnapping.

He pulled the
blade out and raised it high to his forces.

They cheered with victory and ran to meet their champion commander.

Up on the poles, Rahab was crying with joy, and Joshua gave thanks to Yahweh for his victory.

But immediately, they were returned to their dungeon by Sheshai.

Sheshai and Talmai were dumbfounded with shock. They could not believe a rodent Habiru had just defeated their mightiest of gibborim. It was humiliating. They watched as warriors surrounded Caleb and gave him a sword with which to cut off the head of Ahiman.

Caleb then walked with weary legs closer to the wall to present the head to Sheshai and Talmai. He yelled, “I have triumphed over your champion! Now release the captives!”

But
the Anakim did nothing.

“Fulf
ill your covenantal obligation in the name of Yahweh of Israel!”

But
Talmai yelled back in response, “Go sodomize yourself, vermin! We have no obligation to keep our word with bloodsucking Habiru!”

Caleb stood in rage as his men surrounded him.

“Sheshai
and Talmai of Arba, I will cut you in pieces and send them to the four corners of this land as a testimony of your damnation!”

Talmai
responded, “I will see you on the battlefield, grasshopper!”

Caleb
spun around like a discus thrower and hurled the king’s head at Talmai, who had to duck to avoid the bloody mess from hitting him.

Caleb
led his men back to camp.

At a short distance he saw that the three commanders who were with Joshua had arrived with their three thousand men, fresh from
their victories in the Shephelah lowlands.

They now had six thousand warriors ready for battle.

Caleb grinned and said to those with him, “Prepare the siege ladders. We attack tomorrow.”

Sheshai entered Ahiman’s personal chambers to gather the crown and royal robe used for ceremonial occasions. He had told his brother to ready the elders of the city for an emergency coronation of him as the new king of Kiriath-arba. Sheshai had taken a personal guard with him of ten soldiers. He was the next in line for the throne, but he wanted to intimidate the elders to move quickly without questioning.

There would be no time to even perform the ceremonial march through the city as Ahiman had done when he was crowned. He would simply go before the elders and they would give their unanimous approval and he would ascend to his rightful place.

He
could not believe it. What luck. He had spent so much energy trying to rule by proxy through Ahiman. It had been so bothersome and tricky. But now, thanks to the unexpected blessing of Ahiman’s surprise defeat at the hand of a despicable Habiru, he had his dream. He would be the direct ruler of his people, something for which he had lusted so many years.

He was trembling with excitement as he rushed over to the palace to meet the elders of the city in hurried assembly for crisis.

The gathering was in the throne room. The eight elders arrived out of breath. They knew they had to deliberate quickly, something governments were not accustomed to doing.

They
stood along the walkway up to the throne. They would have to unanimously agree to Sheshai’s ascension, and then he would walk up to the throne, have the crown and robe placed on him. Then the royal scepter and a large mace would be given to him by the head elder who would cite the ceremonial words of approval of the elders, and Sheshai would be king.

Sheshai pushed open the doors and marched up to the front of the room with his ten guards following him. They took their places surrounding him protectively as he placed the crown and garment on the throne of bones.

He was rushing. Everyone was rushing. They had to move quickly. They were at war.

Sheshai looked around and said im
patiently, “Where is my brother? He should be here by now! Elder Adab, do you have the royal scepter?”

“Yes, my lord,” said
Adab.

“We will have to move ahead without Talmai.”

But then Sheshai was interrupted by the big oak doors opening to Talmai. He was dressed in his general’s garb of armor and cape with metal necklace covering his long neck.

“Brother Sheshai!”

Everyone turned to see Talmai strutting forward to the throne, followed by a company of fifty armed soldiers.

“What in Sheol are you doing?” complained Sheshai as the soldiers split apart and walked behind the elders, surrounding them ominously.

Talmai stood in the midst of the walkway staring up at Sheshai with a maleficent look on his face.

“My dear brot
her, what I am doing is engaging in what is commonly known as a coup d’état.”

Talmai clapped his hands twice and the soldiers all grabbed the elders from behind and drew daggers across their throats, dropping them all to the floor in puddles of
spurting blood.

Sheshai was so surprised by his brothers’
actions; he stood there with frozen face in shock. He had not seen it coming.

Sheshai quickly gathered his wits and barked to his ten guards, “Arrest the general immediately!”

But his guards did not move.

“I said, arrest him!”

But the guards slowly stepped away from Sheshai and turned to face him, displaying their loyalty to Talmai.

“You see, brother,” said Talmai, “there are advantages to being the general of the army.
A certain access to necessary power.”

Talmai nodded to the guards and they grabbed Sheshai.
They bound his hands behind him with chains.

“Talmai,
why are you doing this? We would be coregents. It was our plan.”

“It was
your
plan. It has always been
your
plan, and
your
schemes, and
your
ambition to the throne. I am fed up with your insatiable lust for control. I will not be your puppet or your dog.”

Sheshai was uneasy with alarm. “You
have neither the temperament nor the political maturity to rule our people.”

“I have the power. That is all I need to rule our people. For that is all we respect.”

Sheshai said, “At least let me help you strategize for this battle. I do not think you realize just who you are facing.”

“I am facing greasy little
Habiru who do not know who they are facing.”

Talmai turned to the guards, “Throw him in the prison
with the others. And keep him bound.”

One of the guards said, “
Shall we bring the hostages to you?”

“Keep them there for now. I will kill them and eat them at our victory feast after
the war.”

•
• • • •

Achsah was alone in a small clearing facing the northeast, where the tabernacle in Gilgal was. She
had been praying to Yahweh on behalf of her father and had not heard the news.

But she heard the sound of someone approaching her from behind.

She jerked around to see Caleb standing at the clearing edge.

She yelped, “Father!” and ran to his arms.

He caught her and embraced her so tight, she told him she could not breathe. So he released her.

He noticed a figure standing just inside the shadows of the forest like a sentry watching over her.

It was Othniel. Caleb had asked him to set a guard over her. He had not anticipated it would be Othniel himself. But he should have. Othniel had been watching over her for most of her life.

Achsah interrupted his thoughts
, “I knew Yahweh would deliver you! I knew it. I was praying for you.”

“I know you were. Thank you, my little turtle
dove.”

“Where is mother?” she asked. “And Joshua?”

Caleb’s countenance dropped. “I am sorry, child, but we were betrayed. They did not release them to us.”

Achsah’s face went dark.
It was as if she went into mild shock.

“
They are going to die?” she said.

“No.
They are still alive, and we will still have time to save them.”

Even
he did not believe his own words.

Sheshai
’s hands were chained to the rock wall of the prison area. Rahab stood a safe distance away, as the long-necked giant commented on Caleb’s victory.

“I am impressed with your
Karabu gibbor,” said Sheshai. “My people respect power and fighting skill. I cannot but admire Caleb ben Jephunneh.”

Joshua said, “Yet
you said we were to be returned with his victory.”

“Yes,” said Sheshai. “And I
would have released you as soon as I ascended the throne. I seek to be a ruler of my word, regardless of the loss it may bring upon me. But my brother is not so honorable.”

Rahab remembered
that one, the one she knew whose unbridled temper was dangerous.

Sheshai continued, “And unfortunately, my brother
was also general of our army. So when he pulled a coup on me, I had little choice but to submit to his superior power.”

“What will he do to you?”

“There is only one fate for a deposed claimant to the throne: Execution. And the manner in which it is done is excruciatingly painful and humiliating.”

Rahab could not believe how nonchalant the giant was about his blood betrayal and impending doom. But then again, warrior cults were so hardened by their violence that they left little room for sentimental emotions.

They were interrupted by the arrival of a company of four guards.

The lead guard took out some keys and placed them in the door to unlock it. He said, “Time for dinner,
Habiru. Only, for this meal, you are the main course.” The others with him chuckled.

Before he could turn the key, the four guards were suddenly overtaken by another group of four Anakim.
These were not reinforcements, but rather saboteurs. They chopped down one guard before they could realize what was happening. The guard pulled the key back out of the lock and turned to fight the attacking Anakim.

These giants were fierce, and close quarters only seemed to amplify their
brutality. Swords clanged with fury, and body slammed against rock with rumbling as Joshua turned to Sheshai for an explanation.

Sheshai said, “They are part of a contingent loyal to me.”

Joshua thought that was not particularly of any advantage to him and Rahab, since both brothers wanted them dead.

What should I do?
He thought.
What
could
I do?

Rahab clung to him in fear and Joshua had to suppress his instinct to respond
to her.

The fight waged on. Two were dead on both sides. Two were left.

Their swords clanged with rapidity and ferocity.

And then it was down to one on one.
And swords were on the ground.

The last two Anakim were
wrestling against the prison bars that kept the hostages. Sheshai’s soldier was on top and pummeling the other guard bloody.

But he d
id not notice the other guard grab hold of his dagger in his belt.

The other guard plunged it underneath his opponent’s sternum.

That guard then made his last dying move, snapping his enemy’s neck with a twisting jerk of his hands.

The other guard went dead limp.

But Sheshai’s guard stumbled back, glanced at his commander Sheshai with an apologetic look and fell back dead to the ground.

They were all dead. The guards had
fought to the death. But because of that death battle, now no one would be releasing them.

“
I have it!” said Joshua. “I have the key!”

He had reached through the bars and had retrieved it from the dead guard
lying against those bars.

Seshai
said, “I can help you escape.”

Joshua and Rahab gave Sheshai skeptical looks.

“You will never find your way out of here without being discovered. But I can take you to a secret tunnel that leads you out of the city down the back cliff.”

It
suddenly struck Joshua that this whole thing could have been a ruse to gain their confidence.

But that was impossible. As Sheshai could do whatever he wanted to hostages
anyway.

Joshua said, “
And why would we trust you when we are the prize of both your pursuits?”

“I have nothing left. I will be executed. If helping you keeps me alive to overcome my traitor brother, then I will gladly trade
one priority for another. Revenge is far more important to me than your deaths.”

Joshua looked long and hard at Sheshai weighing his options.

Sheshai added. “Do not get me wrong, Habiru. After I release you and regain the throne, I will hunt you both down and kill you. But only after I have returned your favor of help.”

It was the
frankness of this giant’s intent that persuaded Joshua to take the risk. It was strictly a bargain with the enemy of a mutual enemy. Power knows no loyalty, only victory.

And Joshua had no other way
out of this city of Serpentine Seed.

Joshua opened the cell door and said to Rahab, “Gather the weapons and put them in the far corner.”

Joshua kept the guard captain’s dagger for himself. It was almost the size of a sword for him.

Rahab responded obediently as Joshua wari
ly unlocked the chain on one of Sheshai’s hands. Then he handed the key to Sheshai and backed down to guard the access to the weapons as Sheshai finished unlocking his other hand.

Sheshai said, “
I will walk in front of you, so you can keep your eye on me.”

He finished unlocking the other hand.

Joshua tightened his grip on the dagger sword.

Rahab stepped back placing a protective hand on her belly.

Sheshai said, “We are going to the catacombs beneath the gilgal of death on the top of the ridge. Follow me.”

They did
—with great caution.