Love Inspired Historical March 2014 Bundle: Winning Over the Wrangler\Wolf Creek Homecoming\A Bride for the Baron\The Guardian's Promise (71 page)

Chapter Two

T
he soldier yanked on Mira's arm, pulling her from behind Ari's back. Ari bit down on the inside of his cheek. He would not allow this man to harm her. However, if he fought the men with the training he'd received among the temple guards, they'd know he was not who he seemed to be. They'd wonder why a warrior priest pretended to be a servant among a simple farmer and his family and Athaliah's entire army would descend upon this tiny village with destruction. His years of servitude would be for naught if the rightful king of Judah met his death because Ari could not maintain control.

When the guard grabbed a handful of Mira's hair and buried his nose in the locks, every muscle in Ari's body vibrated with the need to kill him. He palmed the lava stone and shifted forward ready to die protecting his mistress as she had done for him when she'd fought off a pack of dogs ready to devour his battered body. That night, long ago, burned in his memory. The way she had fended off the dogs with no more than a firebrand. He had been beaten by men such as these, left barely alive only to be ravaged by wild animals. If it had not been for her and her courage, he would have died at the jaws of the hungry beasts. He would not allow her to be treated harshly by these men.

Lord, I need Your help.

The wail of a ram's horn echoed across the rocky desert. A call Ari loved from his days as temple guard. The use of the shofar by the queen's soldiers was one of many abominations marring Judah. It often brought great sorrow to his heart. However, he could not be more thankful for the answer to his hasty prayer.

“I promise to return,” the Queen's guard said as he released Mira before he and his companion mounted their horses and cantered away. Praise God the patrol obeyed the command, leaving Mira unharmed.

She touched his arm, rocking him on his feet. Without thinking, he traced his finger along her brow and the curve of her ear, tucking her hair behind her back until his hand rested on her shoulders. “Are you well?”

“I am. Thank you.”

Her graciousness proved she'd had a fright. He'd been scared, too.

How close she had come to being used. Her chances for a good marriage near lost. He dropped his gaze to the finger imprints on her wrist and shoved his hand through his hair. Stepping away from her sweet innocence, he expelled the breath caught in his lungs. His pulse kicked.

He glanced toward where the soldiers had ridden. He refused to allow his pulse to settle until the dust cloud disappeared into the horizon.

“You should not leave the walls alone.” He faced her, arms crossed.

She swallowed. A wounded look fluttered through her eyes as she knotted her hands into her tunic. “I have chores to attend.”

Reaching out, he took her fingers in his. The tips warm in his palm. “Even so...”

Mira pulled away from him and released a shuddering breath. All civility between them gone. “Even so I will not live no better than a slave in my father's house, being told when and where I can go.” She stalked away.

Her words cut, but he knew she said them out of fear. Fear of what those men could have done to her. What they might do if they returned as promised.

Guilt stabbed him at the thought of the queen's cruel minions destroying the innocence of his master's daughter. The soldiers preyed on the weak, the helpless.

How was he going to keep her safe from another incident if she insisted on being stubborn? For he had no doubt the guards would return.

His first priority was to protect the child king. Just as it had been since he'd followed Tama and the child to this small village that awful night. They'd left Jerusalem because of the danger, and now it seemed to have followed them here.

He scrubbed his palm over his face. Tama, the boy's nurse, would no doubt miss her cousin, and Mira her, but perhaps it was time to take the child and leave. But to leave his master's family, defenseless? Leave Mira to the mercy of the soldiers? There had to be a way to protect them all.

He returned to his work, his mind heavy. Why had the soldiers even come? And why now, after almost seven years of absence? He jabbed the lava stone into the basin and scooped out the last bit of mud. He smoothed the clay texture over the stones, filling the gaps in the rock wall.

“Shalom.”

Ari spun on his heel, the tool cutting into his palm. His eyes focused on the hunched, graying man before him. Ari bowed low before his master, whom he wanted to please. “Shalom,
adon.
”

His master gripped Ari's shoulder. The warmth of the aged hand reminded him of the man's waning strength.

“Come now, my son. There is no need to be startled. It is I, Caleb, your friend. Rise.”

Ari scraped the lava rock clean before balancing it on the edge of the earthen bowl. He dipped his hands into a small basin of water, scrubbed away the clinging plaster and dried them on a cloth.

Straightening to his full height, he scanned the area for a sign of the queen's soldiers. “My forgiveness, Master Caleb. I had just seen the queen's soldiers.”

“No forgiveness needed, Ariel. I saw them ride away in haste and wondered at their presence. Perhaps they are keeping peace.”

Peace, when they inflicted so much violence? Ari shifted his gaze beyond the rugged hills toward Jerusalem. When would Jehoiada, the high priest, send for them? Perhaps he should risk sending a message to the high priest about the increased patrols in the area? It was time to take the boy and leave. “Is that all, Master Caleb?”

“You have done a fine job, Ariel. It is nearly finished, yes?” Caleb ran his fingers over the contours of the piled stones.

“Another layer of plaster and it will be complete.” He had labored beneath the hot sun for months over what would be Mira's portion of Caleb's home once she married. He had prayed for her happiness and asked the Lord to bestow upon her great blessings as he had set the stones. It was the closest he would ever come to ministering to God's people since he couldn't perform the temple duties. Not that he bemoaned his fate. Keeping the young king safe was an honor.

Sorrow filled Caleb's eyes. “These walls should have been built by Mira's bridegroom.”

A protective instinct gripped Ari. He'd seen the way the men of the village steered clear of his master's daughter. Even the promise of great wealth had not swayed many to seek out her hand and Esha, the one that did, was no more than a drunkard with idle hands refusing to help harvest the crops.

If Ari weren't bound by vows already made before he had come to this village, he would offer his troth to her if only to save her from a cruel marriage to a sluggard. It was the least he owed her and Caleb for saving his life.

Caleb dropped his hands to his sides and sighed. “Alas, I fear she will never marry. I know I should force the issue. It is well past time for her to do so, and my health is waning.” He eyed Ari. “But who is worthy of her?”

The urge to respond expanded Ari's chest. From all he'd seen, no man was worthy of Mira, even when she was contentious, a tendency that only seemed to occur with him, but it was not his place to say.

Caleb cocked his head to the side. “Forgive the ramblings of an old man?”

“There is naught to forgive,
adon.
”

“Come. Let us sit in the shade.” Caleb waved his hand toward the terebinth tree.

Taking his master's arm, Ari helped him walk the short distance to the cut bench beneath the large tree where the thick leaves would shield them from the hot sun. Ari sat beside his master. Looking across the pale rocky desert, he waited for Caleb to speak, wondering if he should tell his master about the guards accosting his daughter.

“The Year of Jubilee is coming. I am certain the queen has sent her soldiers to ensure there will be no uprisings. Yet, that is not what troubles me.” Caleb drew in a slow breath. “Your time of servitude is near its end.”

Caleb's soft tones skidded over Ari's heart. Caleb had been all that was kind, and Ari would stay if God willed it. However, his life was not his own. Until he was released from his vow, his life belonged only to the Lord and his duty to protect the child.

“I know not whence you came or why or what choice you will make when it is time to release you.”

At this moment, Ari himself did not know if he would leave, or choose to remain bound to Caleb. The choice was not up to him, but God.

Caleb wrapped his fingers around Ari's wrist. “I am an old man, Ari. I have come to think of you with great fondness.”

“As I you,
adon,
” Ari assured. Caleb had been like a father and Leah like a mother. While the affection he felt for them could never compare to his love for his own parents, he had grown to love them deeply. His years spent in the temple had blessed him with discipline, but garnered little, if any, affection outside his family's travels to Jerusalem.

Caleb's dark eyes pierced his. “Please. Allow me to finish. You have worked much harder than all my servants. Yet, I know,” he tapped his fist against his chest, “you are no man's servant.”

No. Ari belonged to no man, only to the Lord.

“I do not know your quest or what lies ahead. You are a great teacher, Ariel, and should be teaching God's laws.”

Ari thrust his fingers through his hair. Had Caleb discovered the truth?

He had never told Caleb about his past or the reasons he had sold himself as a servant. His master had never asked. If he did, Ari would not lie. But he could not, would not, confide in his master about his true mission.

“Do not worry over much, Ari. Perhaps, I assume incorrectly. You have a gift.” Caleb paused briefly. “You teach young Joash well the ways of the Lord. Ways not many are blessed with.”

Rising from the bench, Ari rolled his shoulders. His years of training for temple guard had never prepared him for the battle waging within his heart. Although Caleb's assumptions were wrong, he was too close to the truth.

“I have taught all who were willing to listen to God's law.”

Caleb nodded. “Yes, and as I said, a fine teacher you are, too. However, I cannot help but think your teachings are purely for the boy's benefit.”

“You are mistaken. The boy is an eager learner, but,” Ari said, shaking his head, “it is for my benefit just as much as any.” In this he did not lie. Sharing the law kept him from forgetting the words written on his heart, for when he left Jerusalem, he had left most everything behind. His temple duties, his home...even his ambitions had been left in the tunnels beneath Jerusalem when their queen went on her murdering rampage, seeking to destroy her husband's heirs, King David's descendants.

“I mean no offense.” Caleb rose from the cut stone. “Come. It is hot. Let us get a drink from the well.”

Ari appreciated the change of subject, but he would rather convince Caleb that he had not singled the child king out when it came to teaching God's laws. However, Ari could tell Caleb was done speaking on the subject. “Sh'mira has just gone that way.”

She would not approve of her father walking so far from his bed.

“Has she, now?” Caleb's feet hesitated and then he smiled before resuming. “Let us see what my child has to say, today.”

The corners of Ari's mouth lifted. Mira's tongue could be viperous when she was in a good mood. Given the way she had left him only moments before, her mood was far from joyous. He should at least try and deter his master from a confrontation with his daughter.

“You should allow Leah to tend you,
adon.
” Ari grasped his master's arm and assisted him along the cobbled pathway. Caleb's tunic dragged along the stones.

“Bah, I may be old, but I can still walk outside of my walls. Even if my daughter thinks otherwise.”

Ari halted the chuckle in his chest. His master sounded much like his daughter. “The heat is heavy. Look.” He swiped beads of moisture from his forehead.

Caleb laughed. “Then maybe it is you whom Leah should tend to.”

Having learned long ago that his master was as stubborn as two oxen with full bellies, Ari chose to keep quiet.

Caleb glanced at Ari, his eyes filled with emotion. “If you choose to stay as my son, you are most welcome.”

His heart swelled at Caleb's affection. “I am honored and blessed by your offer.”

He gazed toward Jerusalem. His deception made him unworthy of such an honor. Until he received word, he would not be free to make his own decisions. Although, he wouldn't mind staying. Caleb's family had become like his own. But it was not up to him. Resigned to continue his trust in the Lord, he nodded. “If the Lord wills it.”

“There are many who would think my daughter cursed because of her maimed fingers and scarred hand and thus wish not to marry her, not even for the price of my land, but you, my friend, you treat her with respect and kindness. You would care for her with or without my legacy.”

His heart clogged in his throat. He had only moments before entertained thoughts of a union with Mira, if only to keep her from a wicked marriage with Esha, the drunkard. However, with the words spoken aloud by her father, he knew it impossible. “I treat all the same,
adon.
As God would have it.”

Caleb's breathing became labored as they crested the hill. “I understand. You must have family somewhere.”

Ari shrugged his shoulders. What was he to say? The truth would bring more questions. Caleb might be aged, but he was not addle minded.

“Abba.”

Mira.
The sound of her soft lilt rolled along the cobbled stones and banded around his heart. Ari lifted his head and locked his gaze on her. She did not sound, nor look, as if she'd just been accosted by armed men with evil intentions. Instead, she sat on the edge of the well at the bottom of the hill, her posture elegant, graceful. Like the purest of waters cascading over the contours of lifeless rocks, she brightened the mundane and turned the barren landscape around her into a breathtaking oasis.