waved him on.
“What did he say?” asked Jarom , glancing with suspicion at the prisoners’ retreating figures.
“He said to thank you for your decency.”
We all looked at each other.
“ But we captured them and took their weapons,” Reb said.
Darius glanced over his shoulder at the prisoners. “We tied them practically up to their elbows.”
“A nd we made them watch while we took their city,” Lib added.
Gideon grunted and folded his arms. “That’s apparently better treatment than they were expecting.”
The capture had gone rather easily, and I wondered if the Lamanite spies had possibly wished it that way. I wondered if perhaps they were as tired of this fighting as we were.
“There are many tasks yet to complete before the army arrives,” Gideon said.
I prayed the army that arrived first would be ours.
Gideon spoke briskly, with authority, and he was very unlike the boy who had camped and eaten with the rest of us for the past years. Leading men. Planning attacks. This was what he was good at, what he was meant to do.
“ The city is well-fortified, better than we imagined. She should be easy to defend.” He was walking us toward the outer city. “I’ve got men guarding the prisoners, securing the weapons, scouring the army tents for soldiers, seizing the government buildings, and manning the fortifications.”
“And what are your orders for us?” asked Lib.
“Rest up. You’ll man the gates tonight.”
With those words, he left us so he could see to his other duties.
We looked around at the warriors running through the streets to fulfill Gideon’s orders. I could see striplings on the tops of the walls and in the guard towers. Resting didn’t seem like the right thing to do.
Darius stepped toward me. “ Gid says Jarom and I can return to the outer terrain to scout for the incoming armies. We will bring in the advance notice he needs,” he informed me as he checked to be sure all his gear was tied on tight.
I nodded and let my eyes rest on Jarom . He had been staring curiously at me for much of the afternoon. It was all that talk of Gideon following his heart. He didn’t know what to make of it.
It took him a moment to realize I was watching him, but when he did, he gave me a slow smile.
“Be careful,” I told them both.
Darius was already moving away, but Jarom stepped close to me and held out his closed palm.
“Here,” he said. “It’s from one of the swords we took at Antiparah.”
I stretched my hand out , and he dropped a small shard of obsidian into it. It was rough and shot through with white, very unlike the obsidian from our swords.
“It was chipped off a sword during battle. I picked it up as a kind of souvenir I guess.”
I inspected it more closely. It was flaked and broken and sharp and surely had come from the battle. It was a good gift, and a meaningful one because it held meaning for him.
“Thanks,” I said.
Our custom said I must return his gift with one of my own. It was a common custom and meant little more than a hand clasp of greeting or parting. But it was like a hand clasp each person could take with them. And while it was a common practice among all ages, it could take on a different meaning during the courting years.
I reached into the leather bag at my belt and withdrew a smooth, rounded stone and held it out . It was kind of a pretty stone, if a stone could be pretty, and its smoothness was in complete contrast to the shard he had given me. It was a river stone, made smooth by water and time.
I was aware that Reb and Lib waited for me a distance away now. Darius waited for Jarom in the other direction, and all three of them watched us exchange these small gifts.
Jarom took the stone and ran his thumb over its smooth surface, clearly pleased with it.
“Bye, Keturah,” he said and when he might have turned to go, he lingered and stared into my eyes with that lazy smile playing at his lips. Then he slowly began to walk backward,
“What did he say?” asked Jarom , glancing with suspicion at the prisoners’ retreating figures.
“He said to thank you for your decency.”
We all looked at each other.
“ But we captured them and took their weapons,” Reb said.
Darius glanced over his shoulder at the prisoners. “We tied them practically up to their elbows.”
“A nd we made them watch while we took their city,” Lib added.
Gideon grunted and folded his arms. “That’s apparently better treatment than they were expecting.”
The capture had gone rather easily, and I wondered if the Lamanite spies had possibly wished it that way. I wondered if perhaps they were as tired of this fighting as we were.
“There are many tasks yet to complete before the army arrives,” Gideon said.
I prayed the army that arrived first would be ours.
Gideon spoke briskly, with authority, and he was very unlike the boy who had camped and eaten with the rest of us for the past years. Leading men. Planning attacks. This was what he was good at, what he was meant to do.
“ The city is well-fortified, better than we imagined. She should be easy to defend.” He was walking us toward the outer city. “I’ve got men guarding the prisoners, securing the weapons, scouring the army tents for soldiers, seizing the government buildings, and manning the fortifications.”
“And what are your orders for us?” asked Lib.
“Rest up. You’ll man the gates tonight.”
With those words, he left us so he could see to his other duties.
We looked around at the warriors running through the streets to fulfill Gideon’s orders. I could see striplings on the tops of the walls and in the guard towers. Resting didn’t seem like the right thing to do.
Darius stepped toward me. “ Gid says Jarom and I can return to the outer terrain to scout for the incoming armies. We will bring in the advance notice he needs,” he informed me as he checked to be sure all his gear was tied on tight.
I nodded and let my eyes rest on Jarom . He had been staring curiously at me for much of the afternoon. It was all that talk of Gideon following his heart. He didn’t know what to make of it.
It took him a moment to realize I was watching him, but when he did, he gave me a slow smile.
“Be careful,” I told them both.
Darius was already moving away, but Jarom stepped close to me and held out his closed palm.
“Here,” he said. “It’s from one of the swords we took at Antiparah.”
I stretched my hand out , and he dropped a small shard of obsidian into it. It was rough and shot through with white, very unlike the obsidian from our swords.
“It was chipped off a sword during battle. I picked it up as a kind of souvenir I guess.”
I inspected it more closely. It was flaked and broken and sharp and surely had come from the battle. It was a good gift, and a meaningful one because it held meaning for him.
“Thanks,” I said.
Our custom said I must return his gift with one of my own. It was a common custom and meant little more than a hand clasp of greeting or parting. But it was like a hand clasp each person could take with them. And while it was a common practice among all ages, it could take on a different meaning during the courting years.
I reached into the leather bag at my belt and withdrew a smooth, rounded stone and held it out . It was kind of a pretty stone, if a stone could be pretty, and its smoothness was in complete contrast to the shard he had given me. It was a river stone, made smooth by water and time.
I was aware that Reb and Lib waited for me a distance away now. Darius waited for Jarom in the other direction, and all three of them watched us exchange these small gifts.
Jarom took the stone and ran his thumb over its smooth surface, clearly pleased with it.
“Bye, Keturah,” he said and when he might have turned to go, he lingered and stared into my eyes with that lazy smile playing at his lips. Then he slowly began to walk backward,
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