Heavens Before (24 page)

“No–o,” Ayalah agreed, uncertain now. “And you’re right, I’ve never understood why he allows the Nachash and those whisperers to do as they please on his lands.”

Annah stared at her sister hard, willing her to understand. “It’s because he believes they have all the powers of their beloved Serpent. And if Yerakh believes in the powers of the Serpent, then why should he scorn the existence of the Most High?”

Rolling her eyes impatiently, Ayalah said, “Ha! Don’t make me laugh, Annah. Next, you’ll say you believe in the Most High too.”

“I do believe in Him. And knowing that He exists causes everything else to make sense. Think, Ayalah; what about when the earth moves? Don’t you wonder why it shakes?”

“No, I don’t. The earth shakes, then it stops, and everything is as it was before. Really, Annah, you’re every bit as empty-headed as you’ve seemed all these years. I won’t discuss your Most High. Now, show me this place. Are all these stalls for animals? And look at all this food!” She opened baskets and bins, peering inside.

Watching her sister, Annah thought,
She is not moved by this place as I was. She’s only eager to satisfy her curiosity and to have something to tell K’nan at their evening fire
. Shem stood with Annah now, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, then caressing her cheek where Haburah had slapped her. Annah leaned into him, watching her sister.

Ayalah opened a basket of dark, rock-hard grain cakes. Without asking permission, she took one, nibbled it, frowned, then nibbled it again. Annah heard Shem
suck in a quick breath; he actually shuddered. Wondering, she glanced at him. He was staring at Ayalah, seeming oddly fascinated, yet thoroughly repulsed and queasy. Perplexed, Annah looked back at her sister.

Still holding the dark grain cake, Ayalah grimaced. “This tastes odd. What did you use to flavor it? Whatever it was, you shouldn’t use it again.”

“If you say so,” Shem answered, his eyes now sparkling roguishly.

They followed Ayalah through the pen, leading her up and down the ramps, letting her look at everything until her curiosity was satisfied. “It’s all madness,” Ayalah declared as they were leaving the pen. “That Noakh put more than a hundred years of work into this foolishness—more than a kentum of his life! Not to mention wasting all this valuable timber on something so useless. No wonder everyone laughed the other day when Bachown talked about him.”

Stopping at the base of the door ramp, she said, “I should go find Haburah. I wish you well, Annah, even if you did make fools of us for all these years. What
will
Yerakh do when he realizes you can talk?” Dropping the cake, she walked away, smiling, self-satisfied.

Watching Ayalah saunter off, Annah thought,
You and Haburah are eager to tell Yerakh about me, I know. You hope he kills me. And my death won’t affect you in the least
.

Hugging Annah, Shem chuckled. “Well, we’ve had our first animal in the pen, and she was a carrion-eater.”

Annah blinked. “What?” Carrion-eaters were all the sharp-toothed creatures of the earth that ate the bodies of fallen animals—a nasty but necessary function. “Why do you call Ayalah a carrion-eater?”

“That cake she ate—my brothers and I call those
blood cakes. They’re made with raw meat. And your sister took two bites. Wait until I tell my father and brothers!”

“Ayalah ate the flesh of another creature?” Horrified, Annah thought,
I’m glad she didn’t kiss me before she left
. She shuddered and accused her husband, “You watched my sister eat flesh and you didn’t warn her.”

“She ate it before I could say a word,” Shem protested. “You know, beloved, she’s too quick to use her mouth, but not her mind.” He chuckled again, coaxing her to enjoy the joke. “It’s laughable. Admit it.”

“I think it’s sickening.”

“Never mind; my father and brothers will enjoy hearing it.” Shem bent to kiss her hair. “But one day I’ll hear you laugh.”

I can’t find much to laugh about
, Annah thought, burying her face in her husband’s warm, leather-clad shoulder.
Yerakh’s going to come after me soon, though his marriage to Taphaph will keep him busy for a while. Perhaps he will wait another week. O Most High, give me some time
.

“You are worth more than both of your sisters,” Naomi told Annah fiercely as they rinsed the clay cups and pitchers after their evening meal. “I cannot believe you’re still sane after living with them for all those years.”

“
They
believe I’m mad,” Annah said, stacking the last of the cups into a basket. “And it’s just as well; if they believe I’m mad, they might leave me alone.”

“That sort never leaves you alone,” Naomi sniffed, setting a pitcher into the basket with a muffled clatter. “Look at those herdsman-cousins of my husband, always coming and going from the flocks, always leaving us and sneering
at my Noakh. But as soon as their bellies shrink a bit with hunger, they’re back again, pretending nothing happened.” Sighing, she passed a weary hand over her face. “Sometimes I wonder how many times must I forgive those fools for calling my dear one a madman.”

“As many times as he is willing to forgive them himself?” Annah guessed.

Naomi smiled, shaking her head. “I’m not as patient as my husband.” She settled the last of the wooden serving spoons into the basket. “There. Finished.”

Before Naomi could take the basket, Annah grabbed it and stood. As she carried the basket to the storage room, Annah called back over her shoulder, “Don’t touch the rinse-tub, I’ma! I’ll take it out to your garden and empty it.”

Annah enjoyed stacking the cups inside their fragrant wooden storage chest. It felt good to behave as a normal-speaking person should behave. She would be completely happy, if only she weren’t so afraid of Yerakh.
But I am afraid
, she thought, her emotions suddenly raw, eating at the pit of her stomach.
If only I could put all thoughts of Yerakh away until I see him coming to kill me. O Most High, please calm my fears
.

Naomi was sitting near the hearth when Annah returned to the main room. She smiled and patted the mat beside her. “Don’t empty the rinse water yet, daughter. I want to talk to you.”

Curious, Annah knelt beside her mother-in-law and waited. Naomi had her hands carefully folded in her lap, hiding something from Annah’s view.

Moistening her lips, Naomi said, “Your father must have loved you completely to have given you such a name, Ma’adannah. I’ve been thinking that if he had been
alive, he would have worked gold for you, anticipating your wedding day. He would have given you something special, like this.” Lifting her hands, Naomi held out one of her beautiful gold cuff-bracelets to Annah. “Take it, child.”

“But this was from your husband,” Annah objected, shaking her head in disbelief. “How can I take this?”

“My husband has given me many gifts, including another bracelet like this one,” Naomi said, almost stern. “But your father is gone. He never had the chance to give you a wedding gift. You must have this—the work of his hands.”

Tears welled up in Annah’s eyes. The gold danced and glittered before her. “My father wouldn’t listen to your husband. He rejected your husband’s words, as he would have rejected me.”

“Does that make the bracelet less beautiful?” Naomi argued. “Does that make your father less than your father? No. Forgive him and go on, child. Remember him kindly; he did love you.” As she spoke, Naomi took Annah’s right hand and pushed the bracelet over her wrist. On Naomi, the bracelet fit her wrist. On Annah, it stopped securely at her forearm. “There.” Naomi sounded satisfied. “Now, give me a kiss and go empty the water. Your husband will come looking for you soon.”

Wiping the tears from her face, Annah kissed her mother-in-law and hugged her. “Thank you, I’ma!”

“Empty the water, then go find your husband,” Naomi repeated, affecting impatience. “Go.”

Carefully, Annah lifted the carved, resin-coated water tub and went out the back of the lodge. The evening air was scented with moisture, and the sky glowed a deep ruddy pink as the sun lowered in the western horizon.
Calmed now, Annah lugged the tub to Naomi’s garden, off to the right of the door. Stepping cautiously into the dark, loose soil of the garden, she tipped the tub gently, allowing the water to trickle over Naomi’s cherished root vegetables and herbs.

As she worked, Annah sensed the presence of others near the pen. Shem and Yepheth emerged from the great door, trotting down the ramp. Shem grinned at her. Annah smiled in return, unable to resist him. She spilled water on her feet.
Don’t become distracted
, Annah scolded herself, returning to her task. By the time the tub was empty, Shem was beside her, pulling it from her hands.

“Put this thing down and come with me,” he urged. “Have you climbed up to the roof of the pen?”

“No. Should I?”

“Come see for yourself,” he said, taking her hand.

As they moved away from the lodge, Yepheth called out, “Remember, brother, it’s your turn tomorrow night to keep watch over the herds!”

“You’ll be gone tomorrow night?” Annah asked Shem, dismayed.

“I take the watch from Khawm tomorrow,” Shem answered regretfully. “But forget that now; we’ll miss the sunset.”

He hurried her northeast along the base of the pen until they reached the far corner. There, he pulled Annah up a series of steps leading to a broad platform, then up more steps to a second platform above.

By the time they reached the second platform, Annah was swallowing hard, trying not to look down.
Why should this be any different than climbing a tree?
But the steps were not as solid as the pen itself, and this unnerved her. A final series of steps above the second platform led to the roof of
the pen. Encouraged by Shem, Annah gritted her teeth and climbed onto the roof. Though the roof of the pen was broad, solid, and gently sloped, Annah felt insecure enough to snatch at Shem as he stood beside her.

He laughed. “I didn’t think you’d be afraid, but I won’t argue if you want to hold me.”

“Don’t tease me about this!” she warned him. “I’ve never been this high off the ground before, though obviously you think it’s nothing.”

“Then let’s sit here. Although, I thought we would walk to the other end….”

“No, please, don’t ask me to walk along this entire roof!”

They sat, facing westward. “Look,” Shem persuaded Annah, wrapping his arms around her. “See how beautiful everything is from up here?”

Slowly Annah relaxed and looked out over the landscape. It was beautiful. She had never thought of being so high up off the ground and able to see the sweep of the land, the low, dark curves of the distant mountains, the rose-gold gleaming of sunlight slanting over the fields. The light also illuminated the leaves of the treetops, gilding them. And the rose-violet sky seemed nearer than ever before. Annah felt that she could almost touch the first stars of the evening.

“There are the herds,” Shem said, nodding toward the western fields.

“And you’ll be out there tomorrow night,” Annah whispered.

“Every third night from now on,” Shem agreed. “And when Yepheth and Khawm get married, I’ll take their turns out there for a few weeks—as they’ve done for me.”

“I suppose I’ll stay with your parents,” Annah sighed.
She wouldn’t be able to sleep alone in their hut near the woods. Except for that one night in the ancient Tree of Havah, she had never spent the night away from other people.
And Yerakh might find me alone and kill me
, she thought.
But it would be worse if he found me at the lodge of my husband’s parents … I’d endanger their lives as well
.

Shem kissed Annah’s cheek, then smoothed her hair, interrupting her thoughts. “Perhaps you should avoid the river for a while. I’m sure your sisters will tell Yerakh that you’ve been able to talk all these years. If he decides to come after you, then you should be here with us.”

“Perhaps.” Annah deliberately made the word sound like an agreement. But as her husband was talking, she thought,
If you were to meet Yerakh and fight him, then you might die. I can’t allow that to happen. Therefore, I won’t avoid Yerakh
.

“I was also thinking,” Shem said, kissing the palm of her hand, “that Ma’adannah is a good name for you; your father chose well. I know it means ‘delicate’ and ‘delightful’ as he intended, but it also means ‘influence’. And later, when we’re old, you will be an influence on others.”

“I like my name,” Annah agreed.
If I live long enough to become used to it
.

And if I ever can forget the hatred in Haburah’s eyes
.

Haburah, it hurts that you and Ayalah hate me. What have I ever done to either of you, but to exist? Now, you’ll tell Yerakh. And my husband is in danger because of me
.

“What are you thinking?” Shem asked, fingering the gold bracelet on her forearm. Annah leaned against him, watching the sunset.

“I am thinking that I love you.”

How much do you love your husband?
Noakh had asked her.
How would you measure your love?