Covenant of War by Cliff Graham Page A

the influence of so many foreigners as their leaders.
    “The drought is destroying all the crops in the land. Only a handful of towns where the wells have not dried up yet have cleandrinking water. Philistine garrisons are everywhere in the north and have taken over many of those wells,” Shammah said.
    “Has it really become that bad?”
    “The worst I have ever seen. The water that does run is bitter and foul. It would poison any man or cow who drank from it. Yahweh has cursed the land.”
    Shammah was not given to exaggeration, so if he said it was bad, Eleazar knew it was dire.
    “The farmers?”
    “Unable to irrigate. No streams are flowing. The Philistines …” Shammah hesitated. “The Philistines have reinforced their garrison at Bethlehem.”
    At the mention of his hometown, David closed his eyes. It was a while before he spoke again.
    “How long have Benaiah and Keth been gone?”
    “Over a week,” said Josheb. “They don’t know about Abner. Benaiah won’t take the news well. Especially since it was Joab.”
    “I pray they can convince the
apiru
leaders to join us. We need them. Warlords are more trustworthy than those scoundrels,” David said, gesturing with his head toward the hallway, where the tribal elders and leaders from the north were still talking.
    “What do you plan on doing about Joab and Abishai? The northerners won’t fight under them,” Eleazar asked, only a little hesitant to bring it up again.
    “I am working on that. Give me time.”
    “Killing Abner was inexcusable. Joab should be executed,” Eleazar said plainly.
    “I told you — he is too powerful now. I can’t just kill him. Too many men of Judah are loyal to him. There are many powerful commanders who approved of what Joab did. Tribal fighting. Yahweh forgive us, it will be our undoing.”
    “We still need to do something about them,” Josheb said.
    “There will be an opportunity.”
    David paced, thinking. The other three waited.
    “The new army will be composed of two corps. One corps will be drawn from the people, north and south. We will set it up as Eleazar has recommended. The other corps will have the mercenaries and the Giborrim. I will think about what to do with Joab and Abishai. Go get your midday meal.”
    The Three left the chamber.

TWELVE
    On the edge of the Israelite hill country, a Philistine named Ittai was daydreaming.
    In his dream he saw a dark sky and a darker ocean, with waves that roared around his head like a predator chasing prey. The waves grew higher and higher, and he was clinging to something, a stray piece of wood perhaps, but it kept sliding out of his grasp before turning into a serpent. He swam as hard as he could, pulling his hands frantically through the growing waves, trying to outswim the serpent and the monster that lurked beneath the waves — the monster his father had warned him of, the one who would pursue him always.
    And then the daydream ended the same way his dreams at night ended, with the waves fading to blackness; a long quiet, the cool of the dark, and then he would awaken.
    Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he watched the large, solid clouds billowing upward over the Great Sea and wondered if the drought over the land of the Israelites was finally going tobreak. If it did, it would make their task of moving an army into the mountains that much more difficult.
    Ittai made his way to the edge of the camp, nodding at a couple of guards who snapped their feet together as he walked past. When he came to the clearing where they kept prisoners, he saw two Hebrew women lying on their backs with their ankles and wrists fastened to stakes. Their garments had been torn apart and their bodies exposed. Blood pooled beneath them. It was obvious that a number of soldiers had been taking turns with them.
    “How many went through before it was stopped?” he asked the nearest guard.
    “A dozen or so, lord. These aren’t lasting as long as the others.”
    Ittai nodded. The