Abigail (6 page)

“That way.” David moved in the opposite direction, leaving the place they’d called home for the past few months behind, wondering if anything would ever be right again.

“Saul is too close, David,” Joab said when they paused for breath an hour later.

“I think we’re all aware of that fact, Nephew. What do you suggest we do about it?”

David took a sip of water from the pouch at his waist and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then took off walking again. The terrain along the mountain made running impossible, but they’d managed to go faster than David had expected. Unfortunately, Saul’s men had shortened the gap between them. If they gained any more distance, they’d be within an arrow’s shot. He could only hope Asahel and Eleazar would somehow bring up the rear and send some of the three thousand warriors in the opposite direction. Hadn’t Gideon of old conquered the enemy with fewer men?

He glanced behind him at his own determined men, quickening his pace to urge them to do the same. “If we stop now, we might as well surrender.”

“In another hour we won’t have a choice.” Joab jogged to catch up with David.

Ire prickled the hairs on the back of David’s neck. “So what do you want me to do? Shall I walk down the mountain and let Saul’s archers have at me? Or maybe you want me to just lie down at Saul’s feet and wait until I feel his sword pierce my neck?” He sprinted forward, not wanting a reply. Anger spurred him on.

Joab caught up with him again. “Of course not, David. Every one of us believes you will be the next king of Israel, but we could get on with that a lot sooner if you’d just let one of your men shoot one of our arrows at the old king and be done with this nonsense. We’re running away instead of fighting. If we fight, I promise you I will take him out with one shot.” He huffed the words at David’s side, falling back when they came to a narrow path circling the mountain.

“I do not doubt your military prowess, Joab, but I’ve told you before, I will not kill the king.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll do it.”

“I am responsible for your actions.” He caught Joab’s determination and matched it with his own. “The answer is no.”

He moved ahead, his side aching from the climb. When he reached a wider plateau, he paused to look behind him. Saul’s men were gaining. How was that possible? But there was no mistaking Abner’s plumed helmet or Saul’s standard-bearer leading the king behind him.

He looked ahead again. If he took the path to the summit, Saul could wait him out, trapping him here until they ran out of supplies and starved. There would be no way down the mountain without one of Saul’s men spotting them. If he took the road leading to the valley floor, the men Saul left at the foot of the mountain would surround him. Saul’s men would be rested and able to travel quicker, swooping down on him and his exhausted, hungry men. There was no way out short of the grace of Yahweh.

O Adonai, my enemies surround me. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings from the wicked who attack me, from my enemies who surround me. They have tracked me down, and now they surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground, like a lion hungry for prey. Rise up, Adonai, confront them, bring them down. Rescue me from the wicked by Your sword.

Sweat greased his back and his forehead, and he wiped his brow again, warring with indecision. Benaiah joined him, his longer legs carrying him faster than Joab’s, his presence comforting.

“If you have a suggestion, I’m listening.” David glanced at his guard, impressed with his obvious strength and quiet confidence. This was a man he would keep close, one who could be trusted.

“We should head toward the valley. It may be that the others will have pulled Saul’s men away from watching us. But at least there we may find numerous places to hide. Here we are trapped.” Benaiah glanced toward the path as the others joined them.

David acknowledged Benaiah’s advice with a nod. Joab might disagree, and there was wisdom in the abundance of counselors, but David was not in the mood to hear Joab’s opinion yet again. He moved away from the group to the edge of the cliff, the breeze cooling his skin. They would have trouble keeping warm at this elevation. Benaiah was right.

He turned to move toward the path leading downward when a whizzing sound whooshed past his ear.

“Get down!” David flattened his body to the dirt in one instinctive motion, sensing that his men had done the same. He lifted his head and took in the group. “Anybody hurt?”

Benaiah pulled an arrow from a clump of dirt and crawled toward David. “We’re fine.” He laid the arrow beside David. “Let me volley one back at them. They’ll think twice before they shoot again.”

David shook his head. “You might hit the king. I can’t risk it.”

“You would risk our heads instead?” A murmur of agreement followed Joab’s angry retort. The thirty now crowded closer on their knees. “At least let us shoot toward them to slow them down so we can escape.”

David met Joab’s heated scowl with one of his own. He swiveled his gaze to Benaiah. “You can shoot over their heads. Two shots. And make sure you are far from Saul’s armor bearer, since Saul will undoubtedly be right behind him.”

Benaiah offered David a brief nod and crouched closer to the edge, nocked the arrow into his bow, and let it fly. Shouts came from below, and David moved closer to see the damage as Benaiah readied the second arrow. But the commotion didn’t seem aimed in their direction.

“A runner comes,” one of the men said. “See there, he’s heading toward the king.”

The faint sound of Saul’s name being called carried to them. David put up a hand to stop Benaiah from loosing another arrow. Benaiah let the bow go slack as the thirty gathered around David, watching as the runner finally made it to the king’s side, out of breath.

“My lord king. Hasten and come! The Philistines are invading the land.”

Tense silence broken only by heavy breathing filled the air around him as David held his breath, his head cocked to listen. He half expected Saul to ignore the Philistine threat—however foolish that might be—considering the king’s fierce hatred of him. But to his immense relief, Saul turned around and headed back down the mountain, his men surrounding him as they hurried forward. Abner took a last look toward the plateau where David and his men stood watching. Another hour and Saul’s men would have intercepted them.

Abner lifted one hand to his helmet and deftly bowed, acknowledging defeat. David ignored the salute, knowing how close they’d come to capture. This would not be the last time he faced this foe.

“Are you ready to rejoin the others, my lord?” Benaiah asked after the last of Saul’s troops had faded into the distance and the sun began its descent toward the valley floor. “They’ll wonder what happened to us.”

David closed his eyes against the angle of the sun’s glare and drew in a long, slow breath, letting the tenseness of his muscles ease. “And we will tell them of Adonai’s deliverance. From this day forth, this hill shall be called
Sela Hammahl-ekoth
—rock of parting, for it was here that the Lord Almighty parted us from our enemies.”

“Until next time.” Joab turned from the group and headed down the mountain.

David watched him go, thinking to argue the point, except for the unfortunate fact that Joab was right.

8

Palm trees and the sound of rushing water greeted Daniel as they approached the Crag of the Ibex, and relief flooded him at the sound of women and children talking and laughing nearby. Shepherds and travelers often stopped at this oasis on the shores of the Salt Sea, but surely these people were with David. He couldn’t bear to put Talya through any more aimless searching if he happened to be wrong.

“Wait here.” He gripped the reins of Talya’s donkey and pulled the animal to a halt among the shaded, overhanging rocks. He motioned for his father to stay with the women, and despite his father’s recent protests that he was perfectly capable of keeping up, this time he did not argue.

Daniel released a deep sigh, then gripped his staff and trudged ahead toward the sound of the women and children. He worked his way down a steep incline and rounded a bend out of sight of his family. He lifted a hand to his eyes, squinting against the late afternoon sun, and searched for something familiar, some way to tell whether this was indeed David’s camp. After two months of searching, this had to be it. Laughter floated up to him from the pool below, where two young boys ducked in and out of the waterfall. He took another step closer.

Rough hands grabbed him from behind, pinning his shoulders back. He attempted to whirl about, to defend himself with his staff, but the brute holding him disarmed him, and a moment later he felt the point of a knife blade beneath his chin.

“State your business.”

The gruff voice was one Daniel didn’t recognize, and the oaf was bigger and taller than the two men who had escorted him to David the last time. He forced his muscles to stop straining against his captor, not relishing the thought of feeling the life force flow out of him should the man’s weapon slip and cut his throat.

“I’m here to pledge allegiance to David. I’ve brought my family. They are waiting near the Crag of the Ibex. Please, I’ve come once before. David will remember. I am Daniel ben Judah. I mean you no harm.” His words came out all in one breath, his heart hammering despite his silent command telling himself to relax.

The man’s heavy breath heated the back of Daniel’s neck as he leaned in close. “There are many spies these days siding with Saul, giving out David’s whereabouts. Why should he trust you, Daniel ben Judah?”

“Because a spy would not bring his wife who is heavy with child to a fugitive camp. Or his parents. He would act alone and expect Saul to reward him. He would not join the camp of his enemy.” David thought him a spy? What had happened to change his good opinion in the short months since they’d met? A trickle of fear snaked through him, but he steeled his expression, determined to show this brute guard a confidence he did not feel. “Take me to David. I will answer any question he poses.”

“We shall see. If you wish to see another dawn or that wife of yours again, do not try anything foolish.” The man nudged Daniel forward down a dusty, makeshift path, past the refreshing pool to the mouth of a large cave hidden from easy view. A fire burned at the entrance, and the man grabbed an unlit torch and touched it to the flames, then pointed toward the back of the cave. “Keep walking.”

Daniel obeyed, his fear mounting. What would he do if he couldn’t convince David that he was not a spy or in cahoots with Saul? He couldn’t return to Nabal. He’d be left with virtually no options.

After a series of twists and turns, the narrow passages opened up to a spacious area, room for forty or fifty people to sleep on the smooth, dry ground. Sleeping mats, baskets, clay urns, and leather pouches were strewn about along the walls while a group of men were huddled in a circle playing a game of Senet. Daniel recognized David sitting off to the side, smoothing a piece of balsam wood with a cloth.

“David, we’ve got company.”

David’s hands stilled, and he lifted his head to meet first the man’s gaze, then Daniel’s. His once amiable expression was now one of wary skepticism. He set the wood aside and stood, wiping his hands on the cloth. “Daniel ben Judah, if I am not mistaken.”

Daniel nodded. “Yes, my lord. I told you I would come. It took time to gather my family and sell what I could to gather provisions, but I have brought my family with me, and we have finally found you.” He dropped to his knees and bowed his head, his heart throbbing in his chest. “If you will have me, I am my lord’s servant.”

“How is it that right after you left us the last time, Daniel ben Judah, Saul knew exactly where to find us and nearly caught me? If not for the Philistines and their sudden desire to attack the land, my body would be food for the carrion birds. It is curious, is it not, that you found us and then Saul followed soon after? Now, I’ve been thinking, either you both talked to the same spy or one of you told the other. Which one do you think makes the most sense to me?”

The gaming stopped, and the room grew still at David’s words. Daniel sensed all eyes on him and felt the heat of David’s glare. He could barely breathe past the heavy weight of what he should say next. One wrong word could cost him and his family their lives.

“Perhaps my lord would consider a third option.” He lifted his gaze to glimpse David’s expression. When he saw the slightest flicker of interest, he took courage. “Another way to look at this is that I happened upon you by chance as I led my sheep to pasture. Since I’d heard rumors that you might be in the wilderness, I wanted to find you. But when I did find you, I did not tell King Saul, nor would I. Saul no longer follows the ways of Adonai, and I can no longer support him as king. That is the truth.”

Daniel held David’s steady look, unable to read into David’s thoughts. After an interminable silence, David nodded to the guard still holding Daniel. “Release him.” The guard’s grip fell away, and he took a step back from Daniel, but he did not leave.