final call was made to the passengers as the ferry finished loading and was preparing to cast off.
“I need to go, Hadad.”
He caught her arm roughly. “Wait for the next boat.”
She watched the sailors release the mooring lines and push away from shore, then she turned to Hadad again. “What’s the real reason you don’t want me to go?”
For a moment he looked startled, as if her question had caught him off guard and he didn’t have a ready answer. Then his anger returned. “Because it’s too dangerous. You’re risking your life for nothing.”
“If it’s so dangerous, then why is Dinah going?”
Hadad quickly turned his face away as if he had something to hide, but Miriam couldn’t imagine what it was. “Believe me,” he finally said, “I’m against the idea. But Amariah insisted that Dinah come with us, and Joshua finally gave in to him.”
Miriam had a hard time imagining the prince insisting on his own way, much less standing up to Joshua.
“Miriam, please reconsider,” Hadad said. “Let Joshua find someone else to accompany Dinah.”
“Since when do you care so much about my life?”
“There is a very good chance that this mission will fail. If it does, we’ll all be killed. I don’t have much to live for now that Dinah is lost to me, but you do. If you could only see Joshua’s heart for what it is … if you could just get over him, Miriam, you could have a decent life, a husband, a family.”
“Can you stop loving Dinah,” she asked softly, “even though you know she’ll never be yours?” She saw that she had struck a vulnerable spot, poking a wound that hadn’t healed.
Hadad vented his pain with anger. “How can I convince you to stay here? It’s much too dangerous! This mission may not end with one battle, Miriam. Even if we kill Manasseh, there’s still Zerah to contend with and—”
“Who’s Zerah?”
“Manasseh’s palace administrator. He’s a very dangerous man, and he has a powerful hold over the king. He’s always hovering beside Manasseh, caressing him and gazing at him with his sinister crossed eyes. He gave me the creeps, Miriam. But Manasseh has given Zerah a great deal of power for some reason, and even if we kill the king, Zerah could easily rally the troops and proclaim himself king in his place.”
“What does Joshua say about all this?”
A strange expression crossed Hadad’s face. The anger and vulnerability she’d glimpsed quickly vanished, replaced by the eerie deadness once again. “Joshua knows all the risks. But I’m sure he didn’t explain any of them to you, did he?”
Miriam didn’t reply. She watched a second ferry approach the shore and tie up at the dock.
“Is there any way at all that I can talk you out of going?” Hadad asked.
Miriam considered his question for a moment, and when she finally answered him, her voice was a soft murmur. “The first time I met Joshua he was sick with a fever. He might have died if I hadn’t nursed him back to health. Then my father and I helped him escape from Jerusalem. It cost Abba his life. After the explosion at the Temple, if I hadn’t gone back to look for him, Joshua wouldn’t have survived. If anything happens to him on this mission and I’m not there to help him, I’ll never forgive myself.”
The ferry arrived; the passengers from the mainland filed off. As Miriam moved to join the line of people waiting to board, Hadad walked beside her. He stopped her just before she boarded and took her arm again.
“He isn’t worth your life, Miriam. Joshua will never love you the way you love him.”
“I know, Hadad. I know Joshua can’t change. But neither can I.”
8
“I T WAS RIGHT ABOUT HERE.” King Manasseh pointed to the place where he thought the beggar woman had once read his and Joshua’s palms, years ago, when they had been boys. Zerah had insisted that they walk down to the Kidron Valley, hoping that a return to the site would help jog Manasseh’s memory of her
“I need to go, Hadad.”
He caught her arm roughly. “Wait for the next boat.”
She watched the sailors release the mooring lines and push away from shore, then she turned to Hadad again. “What’s the real reason you don’t want me to go?”
For a moment he looked startled, as if her question had caught him off guard and he didn’t have a ready answer. Then his anger returned. “Because it’s too dangerous. You’re risking your life for nothing.”
“If it’s so dangerous, then why is Dinah going?”
Hadad quickly turned his face away as if he had something to hide, but Miriam couldn’t imagine what it was. “Believe me,” he finally said, “I’m against the idea. But Amariah insisted that Dinah come with us, and Joshua finally gave in to him.”
Miriam had a hard time imagining the prince insisting on his own way, much less standing up to Joshua.
“Miriam, please reconsider,” Hadad said. “Let Joshua find someone else to accompany Dinah.”
“Since when do you care so much about my life?”
“There is a very good chance that this mission will fail. If it does, we’ll all be killed. I don’t have much to live for now that Dinah is lost to me, but you do. If you could only see Joshua’s heart for what it is … if you could just get over him, Miriam, you could have a decent life, a husband, a family.”
“Can you stop loving Dinah,” she asked softly, “even though you know she’ll never be yours?” She saw that she had struck a vulnerable spot, poking a wound that hadn’t healed.
Hadad vented his pain with anger. “How can I convince you to stay here? It’s much too dangerous! This mission may not end with one battle, Miriam. Even if we kill Manasseh, there’s still Zerah to contend with and—”
“Who’s Zerah?”
“Manasseh’s palace administrator. He’s a very dangerous man, and he has a powerful hold over the king. He’s always hovering beside Manasseh, caressing him and gazing at him with his sinister crossed eyes. He gave me the creeps, Miriam. But Manasseh has given Zerah a great deal of power for some reason, and even if we kill the king, Zerah could easily rally the troops and proclaim himself king in his place.”
“What does Joshua say about all this?”
A strange expression crossed Hadad’s face. The anger and vulnerability she’d glimpsed quickly vanished, replaced by the eerie deadness once again. “Joshua knows all the risks. But I’m sure he didn’t explain any of them to you, did he?”
Miriam didn’t reply. She watched a second ferry approach the shore and tie up at the dock.
“Is there any way at all that I can talk you out of going?” Hadad asked.
Miriam considered his question for a moment, and when she finally answered him, her voice was a soft murmur. “The first time I met Joshua he was sick with a fever. He might have died if I hadn’t nursed him back to health. Then my father and I helped him escape from Jerusalem. It cost Abba his life. After the explosion at the Temple, if I hadn’t gone back to look for him, Joshua wouldn’t have survived. If anything happens to him on this mission and I’m not there to help him, I’ll never forgive myself.”
The ferry arrived; the passengers from the mainland filed off. As Miriam moved to join the line of people waiting to board, Hadad walked beside her. He stopped her just before she boarded and took her arm again.
“He isn’t worth your life, Miriam. Joshua will never love you the way you love him.”
“I know, Hadad. I know Joshua can’t change. But neither can I.”
8
“I T WAS RIGHT ABOUT HERE.” King Manasseh pointed to the place where he thought the beggar woman had once read his and Joshua’s palms, years ago, when they had been boys. Zerah had insisted that they walk down to the Kidron Valley, hoping that a return to the site would help jog Manasseh’s memory of her
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