I present chapter four to you. I hope that you'll take the time to read and review it, along with any prior chapters. Enjoy!
Chapter IV
For two weeks, we traveled together with the Evangelics. Everyday was a repeat of riding, sword lessons, riding, worship, and then sleep. However, that's not to say I didn't enjoy myself and I did not want to leave. Mara was bitter toward the Evangelics the whole time, though she did warm up a bit toward Malachi's daughters. The day before we reached Zion, Malachi and I had our final sparring match. The scenery had changed drastically as we had ridden further from my hometown. The short stubby grass had been replaced by evergreen trees, and every so often the group was given a pleasant surprise by falling snow flurries. The changing terrain, however, was appropriate, because Zion itself was a country that consisted of a singular mountain. It extended so high that it reached above the clouds. The country, reportedly, was covered in one massive evergreen forest, and was cold year round. Mara and I were to depart from the Evangelics in a small village called Admah, though from there it was undecided what we would do.
"Are you ready?" Malachi asked, as he leveled his practice sword with my chest. I did the same. My sword fighting skills had much improved under Malachi's guidance, and soon the student would surpass the master.
"Bring it on," I challenged. Malachi swung his sword, aiming for my collar bone. I jumped to the side and raised my own practice sword to deflect it away.
"Well done with the block," Malachi encouraged. I jabbed at his rib cage, but Malachi knocked my sword away. He then went for another swing for my neck again. I swung my own sword with all my force to meet his in midair. There was a crack and the top half of his sword broke off. It surprised me, but I didn't stop my attack for a minute. I jabbed the inside of his arm, which caused him to drop the remains of the practice sword, effectively disarming him. I pushed the point of the wooden sword against his chest.
"I win," I concluded, to which Malachi replied with a hearty laugh.
"Indeed you did. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll have an easy time winning the next time you're in sword fight," Malachi chuckled. On our final night with the Evangelics, Malachi stood up in a clearing by the bonfire.
"Great," Mara groaned, but I elbowed her softly to get her to be quiet.
"As you all probably know, we will be approaching the Zion boundary tomorrow. However, except for our guests and myself, we will not be entering the actual country. I will be escorting our guests only as far as Admah. So, while I am gone, my daughters will be in charge. I thank you all for understanding," Malachi announced. After his speech, Malachi was rewarded with much cheering and clapping. He took a mock bow before sitting down again.
"That was pretty impressive, don't you think?" I asked Mara. It was easy to see how Malachi possessed a Gift of Leadership with his amazing speaking skills.
"My father is better," Mara bragged half-heartily. Worship started, and with expected consistency, Mara did not join in like everyone else. How she managed to resist all the festive music was unknown. Over the course of the month, I had worked on improving my Gift of Mercy and controlling it. I willed myself to look at Mara's heart, but it still looked the same, if not worse. The colors were still dull, and swirling in a sluggish manner, almost that like they weren't moving at all. It felt like she was slowly turning to stone inside.
The next morning, Malachi awakened Mara and I earlier than anyone else. We set out riding beneath the towering evergreens and up the mountain. The trees must've been at least a couple hundred years old, because the lowest branches didn't even reach the top of my head while I was on horseback. After a few hours we reached Admah. The village had only about ten houses and an inn, all nestled comfortably between the trees.
"This is where we depart," Malachi said, as he dropped us off in front of the inn.
"It's not really that much of a shame," Mara huffed, clearly wanting Malachi to go. Instead, Malachi turned directly to address her.
"Mara, I hope you learn to forgive me someday, but even if you don't, I apologize once again," Malachi offered, but Mara turned away and walked into the inn.
"She's got issues," I said.
"More than you know, even with your gift. Continue to look after here, okay?" Malachi requested, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, of course," I replied quickly.
"She'll open up to you eventually," Malachi promised. With that, he pulled a bag off his saddle and tossed it to me. Inside I found fresh clothes, a small sack of coin, and a little black cube.
"What's all this for?" I asked.
"Just in case you need it," Malachi explained. I wanted to thank him for all he had done for me: the traveling, the teaching, and now this final gift. My eyes started to get watery as I realized that I may never see this awesome person again.
"Thanks for everything," I finally managed to choke out. Malachi gave me a grin and rustled my hair, the way a father would do to his son. As Malachi mounted his horse and was prepared to leave, I couldn't help taking a look at his heart. It seemed pretty clean, with the bright colors swirling with enthusiasm. However, two lines of black snaked through the colors. It was guilt that was causing Malachi's heart pain. It made me realize everyone has pain on their heart, that nobody made it through life unscathed. I turned and took a moment to examine the inn. The sign outside called it Rustic Tavern, and I found the name appropriate. It was about three stories and built of red bricks. Ivy twirled its way up the side of the building. I entered the building and quickly realized the interior did not match the exterior. The lobby was painted green, with couches and recliners sprawled about. A door leading to a small dining room sat next to a staircase that led to the next floor. The banister of the staircase was oriental in design and decorated with carved flowers and vines. I saw Mara standing in front of the desk, arguing with someone. A short, pot-bellied man with thick glasses and greasy black hair slicked back into a comb-over stood in opposition to Mara.
"I demand a room!" Mara shouted.
"I'm sorry, but unless you have money, I can't give you a room," the man said, his face was turning red with clear anger.
"Give me a break," Mara recoiled. The man suddenly spoke to me.
"I'll be with you in moment sir. As soon as I deal with this young lady," the man said before turning his attention to Mara.
"Amos, thank God. This man here won't give me a room," Mara complained.
"Because you have no money!" the man exclaimed.
"I can pay for a room," I said, pulling out the sack of coins and dropping it on the desk.
"That sounds like a lot of money, sir," the man observed. When I looked at his heart, it was full of greed and jealousy, which clogged out much of the swirling colors that should have been present.
"What's your name?" I asked the man.
"Giddel," the man replied, still staring at the sack.
"I have a deal for you, Giddel. You give my colleague and I a room and meal for tonight, and you can have all this money," I offered, picking up then dropping the sack again.
"Would you excuse us for a moment?" Mara asked, grabbing the money sack. She grabbed my shirt sleeve and dragged me away from the desk.
"Hey," I protested.
"What are you doing, trying to ruin us?" Mara accused in a hushed tone, giving me another of her terrible glares. I had gotten them quite often over the past month, but I still hadn't become used to them.
"No! Of course not. But desperate times call for desperate measures," I exclaimed.
"Hush. What do you mean? We aren't desperate," Mara said.
"With the way you were treating Giddel, and unless you're willing to sleep outside, I'd say we are," I countered. Mara was suddenly speechless.
"Fine, do what you have to do," she grumbled. We went back over to Giddel, and Mara gave him an innocent smile.
"Sorry about that," I apologized.
"It's quite alright," Giddel dismissed.
"So do we have a deal?" I prompted.
"Yes, of course. But, now that I've been thinking about it, you two look familiar. Maybe I saw you on the news or something," Giddel said. Suddenly, panic rose in my chest. I should have been more careful. It would figure someone might recognize me as a wanted criminal in New Canaan. Then I'd be dragged back to Jericho, kicking and screaming.
"Let's just quit the facade," Mara sighed.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Well, Mr. Giddel here obviously recognizes us. We were, after all, in those movies," Mara feigned. I realized what Mara was up to, and decided to play along.
"Really? Actors?" Giddel squeaked, his voice rising in volume pitch.
"Yep, you caught us. Would be too much trouble to keep our visit here on the down low? We are on vacation," I said.
"Of course, of course! This is so exciting. Celebrities, staying my inn. I must tell my wife," Giddel prattled, handing us the key to our room before going off into the kitchen.
"That worked," Mara summarized, and we went up stairs to our room. We were on the top floor, in a room near the back of the building. The room was painted just like the lobby. It had two full sized beds, perfect for Mara and I. There was a hologram monitor, or H.M. for short on top of the dresser. A large window that was opposite the door had its curtain drawn across, but when opened, the window allowed a great view of the village. I turned on the H.M. and a square image flashed into existence just above it. A women was sitting there while news story titles rolled by on the lower portion of the screen.
"Hey, this is the news station for New Canaan," I observed. Mara laid down on the bed and groaned.
"Change the channel. The news is always so boring," Mara complained. I sighed, but before I could, a picture of me flashed onto the screen. Worst of all, it was a school picture, which was always bad.
"Attention, this teenager is a wanted man of New Canaan. Any information leading to his capture will involve a huge sum of money as a reward," the newswoman announced. I felt my panic return. My thoughts began to race and I collapsed on my bed.
"Amos! Are you alright?" Mara asked, standing over me.
"I'm a dead man," was all I could murmur. Mara quickly shut off the H.M. and then returned to my side.
"Calm down. Here's an idea. Let's go eat and discuss our next move," Mara suggested. The thought of food instantly cleared my head when I realized how hungry I really was. We went down to the dinner and sat down. The only other person in there was a man sleeping in the corner, surrounded by cups of coffee and important looking documents. A waitress came over to us.
"What would you like to eat?" she asked, like she was annoyed she had to work. She wore a simple baby blue dress, with a white apron around her waist. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
"Be patient. We have to look at the menu first," Mara snapped, though the waitress didn't seem intimated. While I looked to see what to eat, the waitress tapped her foot impatiently, which was rather unnerving.
"Hurry up," the waitress eventually groaned, and the look on Mara's face scared me, like she was about to attack the waitress.
"Fine, get us two waters to drink," Mara growled, clenching her fists against the menu. With the waitress finally gone, I was able to quickly order what I wanted. I got a huge steak with a side of mushrooms, while Mara got a salad.
"So what are we going to do?" I asked while we waited for our food.
"Do you know of the island nation of Galilee?" Mara asked.
"Isn't that to the south of New Canaan, in the Tropical Seas?" I questioned. Mara nodded.
"It's a big vacation spot. My family has a vacation home just outside the city of Bethel. Let's go there and lay low since nobody should be there at this time of year. We can get there from the port of Tyre, on the other side of the mountain," Mara explained.
"Then that's where we'll go to tomorrow," I agreed. Just then our food arrived, Mara and I dug in like we were starved wolves.
"How do you kids plan to pay for this?" the waitress asked as we devoured our food.
"Just check with the innkeeper. We should be covered," I said in between bites.
"Wait, you're those actors my husband was talking about!" the waitress exclaimed.
"Yep," Mara said.
"Can I have your autographs?" the waitress asked, holding out a pad of paper and a pen. Mara refused to sign, but to make the waitress happy, I scribbled gibberish on the paper.
"Enjoy," Mara said sarcastically before shooing the waitress away.
"Thank you very much!" the waitress said as she scampered away.
"You don't have to be so mean," I told Mara.
"It's not my fault if people annoy me," Mara shrugged. By the time we had finished our meal and dessert, the sun had already descended behind the horizon. We took turns getting a quick shower. Mara immediately went to bed, but I kneeled at the foot of mine to pray like I always did.
"Lord my God, please continue to protect me. I pray for the safety of the Evangelics and for a safe journey to Tyre tomorrow. Amen," I prayed. Mara sat up in her bed.
"Do you always pray before you go to sleep?" she asked me.
"Yeah, don't you?" I said.
"Not really. But at least I don't just ask for stuff," Mara said.
"What do you mean?" I inquired.
"God is just like us. He likes when we talk to Him, thank Him for stuff He's done for us. I'd think you'd know that," Mara explained before lying back down and closing her eyes. It sounded a little weird, but Mara did have a point. I kneeled again.
"God, thank You for all your assistance in everything. I thank you for the awesome gift, and for the friends You have provided for me. Amen," I prayed, hoping I had thanked God for everything I needed to. The covers were warm and comfortable, and I was suddenly overcome with drowsiness. I switched off the lights.
"Good night," Mara mumbled through the darkness. A smile crept upon my lips.
"Night," I murmured back before falling asleep. However, I would dream that night, though it would be more of a memory.
I was much younger again. A warm feeling surrounded me, and I felt the most comfortable I had ever felt. I realized I was lying on a couch, lying between the crook of my father's elbow and his body. The H.M. was on, showing the news.
"Son, when you get older, don't watch the news. It's too depressing," my father warned. I tried to look at my father, but like my mother, I couldn't see his face. All I could see was a mustache and metallic grey hair that came down to cover his eyes, though my father was wearing glasses. Just then a video of the King began to play on the H.M. and I noticed a little girl with him. I couldn't figure it out, but something seemed different about her.
"Who's that?" I asked.
"Who, the little girl? I do believe that she's the Princess," my father said.
"She's very pretty," I ogled.
"Slow down there. Women can be very tough," my father laughed. My mother suddenly appeared in the room.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"Yeah, Daddy, what's that mean?" I asked. My father ruffled my hair, like Malachi had done.
"I'll teach you someday," my father promised. Then the memory faded.
I woke with a start. The darkness outside the window told me it was still night. The memory had already begun to go fuzzy, but I felt like something more important was wrong. There was a clicking sound, like a key in a keyhole. I rushed to the door only to find it locked from the outside.
"Open this door!" I demanded.
"What's happening?" Mara asked sleepily. My shouting had awakened her. I heard laughter from the other side of the door.
"I'll tell you. I'm going to get rich," I heard Giddel's voice.
"Explain yourself," Mara shouted, now fully awake.
"I know both of you are wanted by New Canaan. They are offering money for both of you, and now that I have both of you captured, I'm going to be very rich soon. By the way, don't bother trying to escape. The window is locked too," Giddel explained. Soon after I heard Giddel's footsteps retreating down the hallway. I just lost it, collapsing to my knees and weeping.
"God, why do you forsake me?" I screamed. I heard Mara scrambled from her bed. She hauled me to my feet by grabbing the back of my shirt collar.
"Amos, get a hold of yourself," she demanded.
"I can't. We are going to be dragged back to Jericho, where I'm going to be executed, even after all I've been through," I sobbed. Suddenly Mara raised her hand and brought it straight across my cheek. The slap stung for a moment, but it did manage to stop the tears from flowing.
"That's not going to happen. We can still escape," Mara said sternly, looking me straight in the eyes. I wiped my nose on my sleeve, calming down.
"I'm such a crybaby. Okay, you're right. So, how are we going to escape?" I said. Mara did a quick glance around the room.
"The door isn't an option anymore. The window is though," Mara thought aloud.
"But it's locked," I protested.
"Then we have to throw stuff at it," Mara concluded. We started picking up anything we could lift and throw, but it was all in vain. The stuff just simply broke or rebounded off the windowpane. Even the H.M. broke in half when I hurled it at the window.
"This is hopeless," I sighed, sitting down on the edge of my bed.
"Don't give up. We just need something heavier and denser," Mara said.
"Like?" I asked.
"Like your necklace!" she suggested. Suddenly, an idea began to formulate in my mind. We needed a miracle, and my necklace was the perfect miracle. A month ago, I was hesitant to show Mara my trump card, and I was still hesitant. However, we were desperate.
"Stand back," I warned.
"Why?" Mara asked.
"Just trust me," I replied. I pulled off my necklace as Mara backed up to the door, staring at me like I was crazy. I recited Hebrews 4:12, the verse required to transform the necklace. The familiar searing shot of pain went through my hand and up my arm again. I wanted to scream, but bit my tongue. The heat had reached it's maximum intensity when the glow reached blinding levels. I checked to make sure Mara was covering her eyes before doing the same. When the glow died, I felt the familiar weight of my sword in my hand.
"Did you just summon a sword?" Mara asked, truly stunned.
"Yeah, but before I explain, let's get out of this village," I said. I swung the sword, and the window glass gave way with ease. Even though the window was now a free exit, we were still three stories up and alarms began to blare.
"How do we get down?" Mara asked.
"We could jump," I offered. Mara treated me to one of her terrible glares.
"And break our legs and not be able to get away once we were found. That would just put us at square one," Mara said. Suddenly, I recalled the memory of when I was observing the outside of the building earlier.
"The ivy!" I exclaimed.
"The what?" Mara asked. I ignored her for a minute, feeling around on the walls outside the building. I found one of the ivy vines, which appeared to be thick and sturdy enough to support us.
"There's ivy covering the side of the building. We can use it to climb down," I explained as I pulled the vine I had found inside. Mara nodded in agreement. I threw my sword and Malachi's bag to the ground below as Mara went first, climbing down the ivy. As I was taking turn, Giddel burst into the room.
"How did you...?" he started to ask, but I just waved as my head and disappeared below the window sill. I retrieved my sword and bag and Mara and I took off running into the forest, leaving Admah far behind. I ran behind Mara, following the glow of her white hair under the full moon.
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