Banished (Forbidden) Read online

  “What stories did Horeb tell everyone?”

  “He bragged that he had killed the stranger, Kadesh, and that his men carried his body away to be eaten by vultures. He said you’d lost your mind and were wandering the desert, so he was gathering an army to rescue you and bring you safely home.”

  “Oh, Grandmother, it’s all lies. You know that.”

  “I also heard terrible reports from Nalla and Dinah’s relatives. They watched Horeb murder Kadesh. They said he was surrounded and had no chance.” She paused. “We all feared you had died on the desert as Horeb claimed—while he shed the tears of a grieving widower—which I didn’t believe for a moment. Or—Horeb hinted that perhaps you had killed yourself when Kadesh died.”

  I shook my head. “Never, despite a deep despair for so long I wasn’t sure I’d survive.”

  My grandmother brushed her hands through the strands of my hair. “Where have you been, my child?”

  “I spent weeks hiding in the hills of Mari. Then I purchased a camel with Kadesh’s frankincense and journeyed south to the Edomite kingdom to find him. I heard stories, too. That perhaps he was still alive. I carried that hope with me.”

  Seraiah’s expression was thoughtful. “And you found him, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, he survived Horeb’s brutality.”

  “Then Kadesh is a man of miracles.”

  “In many ways, Grandmother. In so many ways.”

  “I’ll never forget the way you two looked at each other the night of Hakak’s wedding. So secretly. So furtively right under Horeb’s nose.”

  “But Horeb did hurt Kadesh. He lost one eye, and he’s terribly scarred.”

  Something rustled outside, and my grandmother pushed back the blankets and sat up, nervous. “My darling Jayden,” she whispered, “you can’t stay any longer. It’s much too dangerous. You shouldn’t have come back.”

  “But I came to get you and take you with me to the southern lands.”

  “Oh, no, my dear.” She shook her head. “I’ll finish out my life here at the oasis and be buried in this spot like so many of our family over the years.”

  “I can’t think of never seeing you again.”

  My grandmother wrapped her thin arms around my shoulders. “You don’t need me any longer. You are a woman of enormous compassion and courage. You have the love of a fine man in Kadesh. I will dream of you and your children. Happy and prosperous. Just like I once was with your grandfather.”

  I sat up on my knees to cling to her.

  “Help me up, Jayden. I want to tell you a proper good-bye.”

  “No good-byes,” I cried softly. “I sneaked into camp to take you and Father with me—and Leila. Horeb will make your lives miserable. He’ll use you against me. We must flee.”

  “Pah!” she spat again. “I’m not afraid of him. Besides, Judith and I have made a pact of peace, despite her rage toward us. We don’t speak unless we have to, but we’ll live here at the oasis until our deaths. Two widows with no husbands and nowhere to go.”

  “But—where is my father?”

  Seraiah’s fingers tightened in mine. “Jayden, I don’t know. Pharez disappeared three days ago.”

  The words shocked me as if she’d thrown a bucket of cold water at me.

  “He left for Tadmur to get Leila from the grasp of the High Priestess of Ashtoreth. The knowledge of your sister living there turned him into a madman.”

  “Who told him she was there?”

  “Judith delighted in confirming that bit of information,” she answered with an abundant dose of scorn. “When Pharez returned from Mari without you, we were all sure you had died somewhere on the desert, or had escaped to Damascus, which is why Horeb went there to search for you. As days turned into weeks, the thought of Leila living at the temple was more than he could accept. I advised him to go to the temple and demand his daughter back.”

  “Oh, no.” I could hardly take in what she was saying.

  “I’ve sent my only living son to his doom. No one has seen or heard from him since, and I’m too old to walk there myself. I’ve been praying, asking God to let him walk through those tent doors. Instead, God brought you.”

  “I’ll find him myself,” I vowed.

  “If you’re lucky enough to find him alive in Tadmur, you should flee immediately. It’s the only way you and Kadesh can slip through Horeb’s grasp. There’s no time to lose.” My grandmother wobbled to the tent doors and snapped them open. Daylight surged through. Frantic, she pulled me past the tapestry to the back door. “Ride into Tadmur as fast as you can. The tribal council has a death decree on your head. You’ve been charged with the murder of King Abimelech.”

  “But Horeb killed his father!”

  “Horeb framed you for the murder with the help of Judith. And there’s a rumor you killed one of Horeb’s men in the Mari hills. Not two months ago.”

  I spluttered. “I—I didn’t. I mean, I didn’t mean to. There was a hyena . . .”

  “Horeb brought the man’s body here for burial before leaving for Damascus. They said his own sword was stuck through his belly—”

  I tried to think clearly, nausea closing up my throat. “But I used my dagger. Not his sword.” When the hyena attacked, Gad must have used his own sword on himself to avoid being slowly eaten to death.

  “You were officially declared a murderess, dear child. And I can convince no one to stay the death decree. You’re the scapegoat for Horeb.”

  I flew to the door, anxious to summon Asher. Once again, the idea of my imminent death took my breath away. “I’ve stayed too long. We’re sitting in a viper’s nest!”

  My grandmother wavered on her frail, old legs and I clung to her, and then kissed her hard on both cheeks.

  Her whisper was harsh. “Go, go!”

  I reached for the door panel, but before I could grasp the edge, the doors thrust open. Two Nephish elders grabbed my arms and flung me to the floor. Then between them, they hauled an unconscious Asher into the tent, a knife pressed firmly to his throat.

  9

  I leaped back, protecting my grandmother from the swords in the small space of the tent. “Leave Seraiah alone. She knew nothing of this.”

  The two elders dropped Asher to the floor with a thud so hard I winced. They’d torture Asher and then kill him. We should have come in the dead of night. I should have grabbed my grandmother immediately and left everything else behind.

  Chemish and the rest of the Edomites had known this trip to Tadmur was dangerous but they’d volunteered for my family’s sake. Now I would be responsible for all of their deaths.

  “If we’re lucky, the old woman will die soon,” one of the elders said without pity. “Once we finish with you, girl, we can finally be done with the clan of Pharez.”

  “Are you insinuating my father is dead?”

  “He disappeared, leaving his elderly mother alone,” the man replied. “He’s most likely dead. If not, he should be.”

  “How dare you speak of my father that way? He was a general for this tribe with King Abimelech while you two were still infants.”

  The council member sneered. “Which confirms that Pharez and his family were always plotting to overthrow Abimelech and his son, Horeb.”

  “Both of you do Horeb’s bidding with blinders on. You’re both fools!”

  The second elder grabbed my long hair and bent my neck backward. “And you have become a threat to the existence of this tribe.” His breath was foul as he traced the blade of his knife along my neck.

  “Get off me!”

  “We have a death warrant for the daughter of Pharez.” He twisted my hair harder and I bit back a sob as he brought me to my knees to bow before him.

  “I came here for my father and grandmother, and I will gladly leave this minute.”

  “If you’re as innocent as you claim, why did you bring a guard with you?”

  I tried to think of a way to save Asher. “He’s not my guard. He’s a boy and his mind is—is t
ouched, like that of a child.”

  “You’re a bad liar. We found him pacing before the tent like an Edomite soldier. With a horse of finest Arabian quality. Which now belongs to us.”

  “You can’t take his horse! It’s his most precious—” I stopped, cursing myself for saying anything.

  The taller of the two men pressed a foot on Asher’s back when he began to stir on the carpet. “That’s why the animal now belongs to us.”

  Despair engulfed me. Where were Kadesh and Chemish? Where was the rest of the Edomite army? The silence outside the walls of the tent was deafening. Had Horeb’s army arrived early? Was a battle now raging out on the desert?

  Asher stirred again, letting out a moan.

  “The boy can be discarded later,” the first councilman said. “He’s nothing to us—only the means that brought you back here, daughter of Pharez. Who is the fool now?”

  Despite the knife poised along my neck, I drew myself up defiantly. Before I could speak, my grandmother stepped forward. “Leave my home, Enoch and Balzer. I’ve known you both since you were babies, and you have no right to enter this tent without permission, especially with women present and Pharez missing. Your wives will be ashamed.”

  “We have no quarrel with you, Seraiah, so stay out of this.”

  “But you invaded my home! I will take this up with the court of the tribal council.”

  “We are the tribal council while King Horeb is gone,” Enoch said. “And we have an order to arrest your granddaughter for the murder of King Abimelech, including sedition against King Horeb.”

  “I’m not a traitor!” I pleaded. “Or a murderer.”

  “You broke the tribe’s code of honor by leaving with a foreigner who was not your husband. Adulterers are sentenced to death. And so are assassins.”

  “I didn’t kill King Abimelech. Allow me to speak before the council. You should permit me that at least.” I jerked against their fists and the blade nicked my skin. Blood trickled down my neck.

  “Women don’t speak before the council.”

  “Let me find my father first. Please!”

  “Stop this charade!” Seraiah growled. “Get out of my home, or I’ll see you both tried for your crimes against women.”

  “It was Judith who set the punishment for Abimelech’s murderer,” the man called Enoch said with a smile.

  “If you could open your eyes to the truth, you’d know Abimelech’s killer is Horeb himself. He’s framing me. What did I have to gain by his death?”

  “Your words are treachery,” the man called Balzer said. “You do yourself no favors.”

  Asher’s head lolled upward, his eyes glazed over. He had a knot on his temple the size of an ostrich egg.

  Balzer took a length of rope from his belt and tied Asher’s hands together, then dragged him upright. Asher’s face was bruised and swelling. His lips moved. “I’m sorry.”

  Guilt washed over me for bringing him to such an end.

  Enoch retrieved a scroll tucked inside his shirt, and unfolded it. “This is the decree of your crimes signed by the tribal council.”

  “Is it signed by Horeb’s own hand?”

  The tall man’s eyes were void of any benevolence. “It doesn’t need to be. He left us in charge.”

  “Horeb didn’t sign it because he wants me alive,” I told him tersely. “To make his kingship legitimate.”

  “Daughter of Pharez, your punishment for the murder of the king is death by stoning.”

  My grandmother sank like a wisp of silk to the floor. “Stoning,” she moaned.

  “No!” Asher roared. Balzer kicked him into silence and the Edomite prince slumped against the carpet again.

  My words scraped out. “You’re breaking the law. I’m not ignorant even though you treat me with contempt.”

  “You’re a whore with the Sariba prince and an assassin.”

  “The Council of Nephish has another law,” I said icily. “No one is stoned for murder without the king signing the order—and without the king’s presence at the delivery of punishment. When Horeb returns, you’ll both lose your heads. He wants me alive so we can be married.”

  “Why would he want a tainted girl any longer?”

  “Because,” I said slowly. “It was decreed long before you ever sat on the council that the son of Abimelech and the daughter of Pharez would take their seats as Nephish king and queen.”

  “Perhaps Horeb has found someone else.”

  “What are you talking about? He’d have to change the law.”

  Except I was supposed to die today, with or without Horeb’s presence.

  A chilling smile crossed Balzer’s lips. “Perhaps Horeb has decided he will mingle his royal blood with the Goddess of Ashtoreth so that a divine ruler can lead the Nephish at Horeb’s side.”

  “Horeb and the High Priestess?” I was returned to the night of my cousin Hakak’s wedding, seething while Horeb flirted with Esther, one of the initiates of the Temple of Ashtoreth. I’d thought he might be in love with her, but it appeared to be only a ruse to ingratiate himself with Armana. The pieces of Horeb’s plan came together in my mind. “That’s how Horeb’s army is being funded. He’s bribing the other tribes for treaties—through the coffers of the temple and the High Priestess Armana.”

  “Armana will be our queen,” Enoch said, smiling at how he’d managed to enlarge the threat against me. “Your sister could become Horeb’s mistress. She will give him the clan of Pharez and the temple divinity and wealth.”

  The suggestion of Leila and Horeb together made me sick to my stomach. “You aren’t fit to wash Leila’s feet.”

  Balzer wrenched me upright. “The sun has risen. Death by stoning to take place upon sight of the assassin.”

  I was sure their warrant for arrest said none of those things, but I was at their mercy. I could only stall to give Kadesh and Chemish time to get here. Stumbling over the limp body of Asher, I was dragged from my father’s tent.

  Enoch and Balzer yanked me down the oasis path and my grandmother’s wail followed me. The morning was fragile, filled with a surreal, hazy light. I could barely grasp the fact I only had minutes left to live.

  Somehow, word had spread that I’d been captured. Already, tribal families were emerging from their tents to watch me taken to the stoning cliff on the desert perimeter of the oasis, away from the city.

  My eyes searched for signs of Kadesh and the Edomites. Where were they?

  Nasib, another council member, walked up to us and spat at my feet. “So you’ve found the murderess.”

  I flinched, but held myself upright, despite how fast they were dragging me through the rocky sand. “Let me tell my grandmother good-bye,” I said. “It’s my final right.”

  “If it were up to me,” huffed Enoch, “you would get nothing except a mouthful of vinegar wine.”

  “My blood will cry against you from the dust,” I told him. “My soul will follow you until you drop dead from your own sins.”

  Balzar hit me across the jaw and my head flung back with the impact. “Silence, prisoner!”

  The paths were filling. Older men and women, boys too young for raiding, young children skipping along the path carrying early spring wildflowers in their fists. As though we were all going to a party.

  Two men came to speak to Enoch and Balzar, their eyes flickering to my face. “Fighting in the west,” one of them said in a low voice.

  My body tensed. “Who’s fighting?”

  Balzar gave me a withering look. “Your stranger brought an Edomite army with him. Our militia is taking care of them.”

  “The Edomites will destroy you.”

  “You underestimate the number of militia King Horeb left behind.” Enoch smiled wickedly. “The slaughter of the Edomites will be finished soon.”

  The sickening fear in my belly increased tenfold. “Never,” I whispered under my breath.

  Within moments, we were at the stoning cliff’s edge, the place marked for the death of ene
my prisoners and convicts of Tadmur. The spot was on the outskirts of the city and not very high. Most of the time the hollow below the stoning cliff was a place to bury rubbish and the carcasses of dead animals.

  Behind me, my grandmother and Asher were jostled through the crowd, held in check by tribal council guards. Asher’s hair fell in blood-streaked clumps over his bruised eyes. They’d taken his sandals and stripped him of his cloak.

  Guilt gnawed at me to think what I’d brought upon Chemish’s son. “This boy has done nothing,” I tried again. “He doesn’t deserve such harsh treatment. Give him his horse and send him back to his people.”

  “Soon he won’t have any people left,” Enoch said.

  “That’s enough!” snapped Seraiah. “Prisoners aren’t treated this badly, not even when captured from a raiding tribe.”

  “As a person of rank I deserve a trial.” I pressed a hand against my stomach. My arguments were fading along with the last moments of my life.

  “Final good-bye,” one of the guards announced.

  The crowd pressed forward. Curious and hate-filled eyes surrounded me. I heard a baby crying among the women and the sound reminded me of my sister, Sahmril, in her first hours of life a year ago.

  My grandmother was shoved forward. “Say good-bye, old woman,” Balzar ordered.

  Her hands stroked my hair as I clung to her, the horror of what was about to happen turning me feeble and weak. Vomit rose up in my stomach.

  “Oh, my child, Jayden,” she murmured.

  “Is there any hope?” I whispered into her gray hair, trying not to cry in front of my tribe.

  “There is always hope.” She brought me closer, her black marble eyes latched on to mine. “Whether you die this day or one day far into the future in the southern lands, I will see you in the spirit world. Go in peace, my daughter. Know that you are beloved, and will never be forgotten.”

  My grandmother kissed me on each cheek and then placed her palms on my head as though blessing me.

  Two soldiers wrenched me from her arms. Seraiah was hauled to the edge of the cliff and placed in position to watch my death.