Crown in the Stars (49 page)

Turning again, Adoniyram said something unintelligible to Kaleb. To Kal’s relief, however, Adoniyram followed the mumbled command with an unmistakable nonverbal look and a tilt of his head. He wanted Kaleb to take Shoshannah inside his residence. Kal nodded and bowed, then spoke to the now-hushed, tearful Shoshannah. “Come, Lady; I’ll be sure you are safe.”

“No.” Shoshannah shook her head. “I’m not going in there. Don’t you understand what he’s doing? He wants to make me his wife!”

“Understand me, please,” Kaleb said distinctly, fearing Adoniyram might suddenly recover his senses and comprehend what they were saying. “You’ll be safe; I’ll be sure of it.”

“Truly?”

“You have my word.”

Adoniyram felt Shoshannah trembling, but she seemed to recover as Kaleb spoke to her. She wiped her eyes, sucked in a shaky breath, and stood. Standing with her, Adoniyram kissed her wet cheek, then her hand, murmuring, “You’ll be safe; go inside, beloved. I’ll return to you as soon as I can.”

Shoshannah studied him again, clearly not understanding what he had said. But she followed Kaleb obediently. She had understood the big guardsman.
How? Why didn’t I understand him?
Mystified, Adoniyram watched
Shoshannah until she was safely inside his house. Then he caught his horse and followed his scared, incoherent gatemen out into the streets. Whatever was happening, Adoniyram was determined to confront it. He could not allow chaos to take hold in his city.
This is my kingdom now
.

He hoped Rab-Mawg and Kuwsh were fighting in the temple, and that Ra-Anan would join them; they could struggle for supremacy among themselves until they killed one another.

“You’ve ruined yourself,” Kuwsh told Rab-Mawg coldly, pleased by the sight of the body and by the young magician-priest’s disgrace. A breeze wafted through the temple, and Kuwsh inhaled it, feeling refreshed. Victorious. Now he had only to be rid of that useless, scheming Adoniyram. Not to mention Ra-Anan.

My own sons will help me deal with them
, Kuwsh decided.
We will take control of this kingdom, as we should have done after Nimr-Rada’s death. And I will deal with the Lady Keren. As soon as I find her
.

He would have to search for Keren himself, since Sharah was no longer able to reveal her sister’s whereabouts. He would order his guardsmen to tear apart Sharah’s residence as soon as he dealt with this fool Rab-Mawg.

The magician-priest glared at him, looking like a trapped wild animal. And he growled out words—deformed, hacked bits of noise that made no sense.

Kuwsh laughed at the thin, shaven priest contemptuously. “You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you? And no wonder—after all the brewed herbs and poisons you’ve
experimented with. Did you think I wouldn’t hear of your doings? You are a fool.” Glancing at his guards, Kuwsh said, “Kill him.”

His guards blinked and stared. Impatient, Kuwsh repeated, “Kill him!”

One of his guards spoke now, his tone and manner respectful, his words guttural and strange. Two of Ra-Anan’s servants gabbled at Kuwsh, agitated, shaking their heads.

They’ve all gone mad
, Kuwsh thought, stunned.

Ra-Anan charged into the temple now, looking around, arrogant as ever. He eyed Kuwsh and snapped out words that sounded like rattling, whispering nonsense.

Kuwsh frowned at him. “What is wrong with you?”

Instantly, Ra-Anan’s dark eyebrows went up quizzically. One of his servants muttered something, Rab-Mawg growled out more gibberish, then everyone began to jabber and yell, gesturing broadly. Ra-Anan stared at them all and fled from the tower as if chased by wild beasts.

Cold fear chilled and raised the hairs on Kuwsh’s head and down his neck.
What have You done to us?
he wondered to the heavens—to the Most High, whom he had not deigned to address in years. Horrified, he scurried after Ra-Anan.
I have to get home
.

The priest Rab-Mawg stood within his glittering, golden temple, triumphant, watching his enemies flee like the cowards they were. Shemesh had saved him by confounding Kuwsh, Ra-Anan, and their servants.
I will live; I’ve escaped punishment
.

But now he had to get rid of this woman’s corpse; it
was defiling his temple. Calmer, his heart settling into a more normal rhythm—though his head still ached and pounded thickly—Rab-Mawg looked around for his attendant-priests. Ebed, Ghez-ar, and Awkawn were clustered together uncertainly in the side doorway, watching him.

Irritated, Rab-Mawg motioned for them to help him remove the body. As they wrapped their defeated Queen of the Heavens in linen and carried her outside to bury her amid the plants, Rab-Mawg said, “She will be more useful to us now that she is dead; she will rule unseen, and we will speak for her!”

When he realized that his fellow priests were staring at him as if he were insane, or a babbling toddler, Rab-Mawg knew he had not escaped punishment after all. Who could accept his commands if they didn’t understand him? How could he possibly rule this kingdom?
This cannot be true. I am ruined. I am mad …

Trailed by Perek and the weeping Ormah, Ra-Anan rode with Kuwsh through the streets, feeling more vulnerable than he had after that would-be assassin, Dayag, had slashed at him in the darkness.

The citizens were yowling at each other or weeping and tearing their hair. Others were hastily packing up their belongings to flee. Many screamed at Ra-Anan and Kuwsh, as if condemning them for this chaos.

A man spat toward him, and a woman gestured expansively, her voice rising in hysterical accusation. Refusing to take the blame for this horror, Ra-Anan lifted his hands toward the sky, pointing emphatically.
There. Blame the heavens! Blame Him!

He found the motion effective and profound enough to stop many people where they stood, reducing them to hopeless misery and tears. But numerous rough laborers and merchants were not so easily subdued; they glared threateningly and joined others who were running south, toward his and Kuwsh’s residences.

Kuwsh frantically prodded his horse ahead, toward his home.

Unnerved, Ra-Anan followed Kuwsh’s example.

Shoshannah frowned, doubtful, as Kaleb opened a door and urged her inside, murmuring, “Whatever you do, beloved, keep quiet. Give these to the others.” He handed her a sheathed knife and a spear. “I’ll get more weapons; then we’ll reclaim our horses.”

Others?
Was Kaleb teasing her? Shoshannah stepped into the dim storeroom and hesitated, whispering as loudly as she dared, “Who’s in here?”

A woman’s voice answered softly. “Shoshannah?”

Shoshannah thought her heart would fail from shock. “I’ma!”

They found each other in the darkness. Shoshannah hastily set aside the spear and held her mother with all her might, crying—particularly when she heard Keren’s stifled sobs and felt her tremble. A hand passed over Shoshannah’s hair, and her father’s voice, profoundly grateful, whispered, “Thank You.”

Overwhelmed, Shoshannah hugged him and her mother, rejoicing until her father said, “Shhh. What’s Kaleb doing? When he returns, we’ll find the others and leave.”

Averting their faces, Shem and Annah listened and watched amid the chaos outside the walled gate. “Shoshannah must be inside,” Annah murmured to her husband. “That young man, Adoniyram, rode away from this gate.”

“And Zekaryah and Keren are probably inside Sharah’s home,” Shem agreed. “I pray we can rejoin them soon.” Around them, people were calling to each other, packing gear, departing… scattering just as their ancient patriarch, Noakh, had predicted.