In All Places (Stripling Warrior) (9 page)

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, holding my gaze.

“That stone is in no way a promise,” I said.

“I didn’t think it was,” he replied and finally did turn to catch up with my brother.

“What do you think it is then?” I
called quickly, for I did not know when I would see him again.

“A stone waiting to be slung!” he called back over his shoulder.

Then what was this stone I felt sharp in my hand? This broken stone that he had picked up in the aftermath of a fight and saved.

I stared after him for as long as I dared. He walked next to Darius with confident, easy strides. I turned my eyes to Lib and Reb, both waiting
, both wearing speculative looks.

“You can wipe those dumb looks off your faces,” I said as I approached them.

“But what would we replace them with?” Reb asked.

“That does present a problem,
” I laughed.

We walked together in the direction Gideon had directed us.
As we passed through the camps of the Lamanite army, I couldn’t help staring at all the tents. Their army was huge, and I knew that if they overtook Helaman, the striplings could not stand against them.

Josh
ua and Zachariah made the evening meal out of spoils we took from among the Lamanite provisions and then, as our captain had commanded us, we settled down to sleep. I slept deeply, despite all the unknown scenarios that had been racing through my mind, until the first watch when Lib called from outside my tent.

“Are we on all night?” I asked him
as we walked through the city.

“The first and second watches.”

We waited and watched half the night in a weighty kind of silence, but our army did not arrive. No spies came through the gates, either.

“You worried?” Corban asked me.

I spit out the nail I had been gnawing off. We were next to each other, leaning back against the wall of the city.

“I don’t mind being outside the gates,” I said. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“I meant about your brothers and, you know, Zeke.”

“Yes,” I said simply, and we left it at that. They were out there running from a large and angry army, and I had no way of knowing yet if they would
return to the city safely or go to their eternal glory. I couldn’t think about them, but not thinking of them on that cool, dark night seemed like a dishonor.

The watch passed uneventfully, and when our replacements came, we
made our way back toward our tents inside the city. Teomner and Gideon had established guards to enforce the curfew for the residents of the city, and we waved to the guards as we passed. There were also soldiers manning all the towers and watch posts. At least half our army was awake, but all was quiet as we walked through the city.

We approached a fire at the head of our
army’s camp and saw that Gideon sat with Teomner. Their heads were bent together, but as we neared, I could see they were in fact bowed, and the two men were in prayer.

Gideon joined us as we passed. All the boys hailed him a greeting, but
he fell in next to me. I didn’t know how he wanted it to be between us now, but I was tired and scared for the others and grateful for his concern.

“What are you doing?” I yawned as he dragged his bedroll from the other side of the fire to the door of my tent.

“It’s the third watch.”

He meant to guard my tent while I slept.

“Gid, you can’t,” I said. “You need your sleep. One of the others will do it.”

“
Stop calling me that.” He sighed. “Now is not the time for me to be disobedient to the commands of the Holy Spirit. Get some rest, Kanina.”

I got into my tent, putting my head near the door, and as the others were settling in
to their tents and bedrolls, I said, “I’m afraid for them.”

He peered in at me. “I know.
” Reaching in, he took my hand in his. I shouldn’t have, but I reached toward him to accommodate his gesture. “Your fear will not help them, but your faith will.” He squeezed my hand. “They are worthy of the highest blessings of protection, and so are you.”

I fell asleep with his hand in m
ine and his words of comfort filling my heart.

When I woke, my hand had been returned to my side, and Gideon was not in camp. Ethanim was
on a knee in the center of our tents and bedrolls building a fire.

“Is there food?” I asked him, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

He pointed to a sack of what was probably grain and grinned.

It had to be corn flour.

Cumeni hadn’t had much in the way of stores when we had taken it, and even though I was hungry and grateful for the food, I did not feel victorious taking spoils from the enemy.

That day Gideon commanded us to walk the perimeter of the city to look for weaknesses in the walls. We found none, but it took us much of the morning and afternoon. Then we
tried to sleep because we were assigned to the gates again that night.

When twilight was falling, Lib woke us, and we began to make our way
together toward our post.

“Gideon stopped by earlier,” Lib said to us. “The spies came in this afternoon
. Helaman has been spotted on the back trail.”

“The treacherous one?”
I asked, but my heart lifted.

Lib sent me a commiserating smile. “I don’t know, but they are coming.”

They arrived just after full dark. Reb ran to inform Teomner and Gideon. I searched the ranks as the others in my unit heaved open the heavy gates.

The
striplings had been marching since I had heard them pass by the ravine two mornings before. They must have been exhausted, but the noise they were making made it clear that adrenaline was still running high.

I w
anted to run through the ranks to locate Micah and Zeke, to see if Kenai had returned with the army. Darius and Jarom had likely arrived that afternoon, but if I knew Kenai, he would still be out keeping a studious watch on the enemy.

I watched
the troops for a few moments as they marched through the gates, and finally I thought I saw Micah in the moonlight.

“Micah!” I called softly.

He turned toward my voice, and I saw it was him.

“Ket!” he said. “You’re safe! You look well.”

I nodded. “I am fine. The takeover went peacefully.”

“Good. That is what I’ve heard.”

“And you?” I asked. “Did you have to engage the enemy?” I knew they hadn’t. The Lamanite army was so large there was no way Helaman could have fought long enough to defeat them and return.

“No. We led them on a chase halfway to Zarahemla. When
the first evening fell, we made like we would camp for the night. And when darkness fell, we took the back trails to return to Manti by moonlight. By morning, we had a good lead on them. Some of it was slow going in the darkness, but we made it.”

“Where is the
enemy army camped?” I asked. Most of the men had passed by us now, and we stood alone in relative quiet.

“They are a full day’s march away. We’ll have time to sleep and rest before they arrive here, and we’ll fight them if we have to.”

“Gid says they won’t attack us,” I said. “He says the city is well-fortified.”

“They probably won’t
then. But their numbers are many. Their leaders may yet feel they have enough of an advantage to take the city back. They know we are but few.”

I bit my lip. “Where’s Zeke?”

Micah put a hand on my shoulder and smiled. “He’s making camp. Wait until morning.”

I nodded slowly.

Micah squeezed my shoulder and bid me goodnight.

I went back to
leaning against the wall as the boys closed the gates behind Micah. I could hear the guards on the other side slide the bars home.

I looked at the moon
, obscured by the heavy clouds, and let the relief wash over me.

The next afternoon, the other men were not in camp when Lib walked me back from the forest. Gideon was the only one who remained, and he seemed to be waiting for us.

“
You’re to tend to the needs of the women and children here,” Gideon told us as he headed off in the direction of the government building. “You will find the men working their way through the city, stopping at each home.”

“Isn’t the language a barrier?” Lib asked.

Gideon threw a look at me and took a brief moment to smile. “Go and see for yourselves.”

We found our unit halfway down the third street we passed. They had divided into small groups and were doing exactly as Gideon had said they would be
. They were knocking on doors and conversing with the people.

“What are we to tell them?” I asked Lib.

“Ask them if they need anything, and make sure they receive it,” Lib instructed, and then he loped to the end of the street to talk to Ethanim.

I didn’t know who to join, so I just went alone. I slogged past Joshua and Zachariah on the muddy road, giving them a little wave
, and knocked on the next doorframe.

After a few moments the thick mat over the doorway eased slowly aside. In the dim interior I could see a very old man lying on a pallet. But the person who had swept back the mat was a very young woman, just about my age. She was taller than me, slender, curvaceous, and beautiful with black hair and skin like mahogany. She wore a wary look on her face.

“Shalal,” I greeted her. That was one Lamanite word I knew, and Gideon had said it was at least recognizable in most of the dialects.

“Hello,” she replied, glancing at the other members of my unit on the street. She had probably been peering out at them for a while. I would have been.

Not knowing whether she spoke my language or the Spirit was interpreting for us, I spoke as I would have to anyone of my acquaintance.

“I am a soldier with the Nephite army, which has taken control of this city. I am here to ask after the health and wellness of the members of this household and to offer you any assistance I may be able to provide.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You are a soldier?”

“Yes,” I said simply.

“And you conquer here but you wish to see if we need anything?”

“Yes,” I said again.

She eyed me with her lips twisting insolently. I thought she might be chewing on the inside of her lip in worry rather than insolence, but she hid it well.

“I don’t need anything from you or your people,” she said boldly after a moment. “But my grandfather suffers with dysentery. Many in the city suffer with it.” A sardonic smile touched her lips. “I think you may not be so glad you conquered here.”

I reached into my satchel, and she tensed visibly but relaxed when all I pulled out of it was my little herb book. I turned the pages until I came to the picture of the hyptis plant. I turned it to her.

“Does this grow here?” I asked.

She studied the picture, taking the book into her own hands so she could get a good look at it.

“I
t might,” she said. “There is an area they preserve for plants. I have only just moved here. Actually, I am only passing through in search of my father. My mother died and I—” She cut herself off and snapped her mouth closed, pursing her lips.

I
touched her arm gently. “I understand,” I said. “My father died when I was young.”

She met my eye. I could see she tried for an expression of defiance, but she was not quite achieving it. The sorrow in her eyes belied it.

“If you will show me where this plant grows, I can show you how to prepare a tea from it that will bring your grandfather a measure of comfort.”

She glanced up the street. “Is it safe to come out?”

“You will be safe with me,” I assured her.

I turned and called for Lib and Ethanim
, who had just been turned away from a home across the way. When they approached, I told them about the man inside the hut. “We are going to find the herbs he needs. Will you see that he is made comfortable and minister to him?”

They both nodded and ducked through the doorway.

“Lead the way,” I told the girl. “I’ll follow you.”

She nodded, but quickly slipped back inside to speak to her grandfather. When she came out again, she sent a nervous look in both directions, but she bravely led me away.

After we had walked to the end of the streets and come to a wooded area inside the city walls, the girl asked me, “What did you mean when you asked those men to minister to my grandfather?”

“Oh,” I said.
It had not occurred to me she wouldn’t know the meaning of the word. We had been conversing quite easily. “I just meant that they should see to his needs, physical and emotional, and bless him if he was willing to be blessed.”

“Bless him?”

“Yes,” I said. “We believe that God has given his power to worthy men, and they may bless and heal the sick with it.”

She considered this but did not comment on it. “What’s your name?” she asked after a moment.

“Keturah,” I said. “Most of the men call me Ket.”

She smiled
for the first time. “There are some handsome ones, like the one with the hair of sunshine.” This comment was accompanied by pretty spots of color on her cheeks.

“Lib? Yes, he’s very handsome.”

“I am Melia.” She gave me a sideways glance as she turned down a path. Hyptis did indeed line both sides of it, and sage and many other useful plants. “I think,” she continued, “I prefer still the dark hair of my people, but I have never seen anything quite as happy as this…Lib’s hair.”

I laughed. “It does make you want to smile, doesn’t it?”

She blushed again. “Here,” she said and indicated a hyptis plant. “Is this the plant of your book?”

I nodded. “Yes. Have you used it before?”

“No. I do not know how to use the plants of the forest.”

M
any people knew enough of the common medicinal plants to prepare simple remedies, but most people had not been taught as I had. I showed Melia how to strip off the useful parts of the plant, and as we walked back to her hut, I explained how to make the tea and picked several other plants that might ease her grandfather’s pain and reduce his fever.

“You have been very kind,” Melia said. “If only all the armies were made up of women.”

I shook my head. “All the men of my army are very kind.” I thought of the time Reb had nearly pushed me into the latrine, and I couldn’t help a smile.

She looked at me doubtfully and changed the subject. “I’m afraid my grandfather will not be long for this world. He is very old
, and he is not strong enough to fight the dysentery. That is why we must find my father.”

It was a frustrating truth of our society, but she needed a man’s protection and support. Even Mother, who had raised us alone, had
accepted help from Hemni and Kalem. She couldn’t have taken care of the fields without Hemni’s help, not while she was taking care of us. And as much as I had resented Kalem’s gifts of food, I knew at times she wouldn’t have been able to feed us without them. Of course, Melia did not have children as Mother did, but she also did not have the skills to keep herself safe as she traveled. There were ways for a woman to make it alone, to trade cloth or pottery or baskets if she could make them, but it was not common, and it was difficult.

“
Will you leave him when you continue to search for your father?”

“No,” she said. “I won’t leave him, and he can’t travel anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly and let it stand between us for a few moments before I asked, “Is your father a soldier with the Lamanite army then? I’m surprised you did not find him here. The army is so large. Most of the Lamanite warriors in this quarter of the land have been forced from the cities and have congregated here.”

“No. My father is with the Nephite army, so I am glad you have taken over here.” She turned hopeful eyes on me. “Maybe he is here in the city even now.”

“I don’t think so,” I said regretfully. “All the men of my army are very young. The oldest are not much older than you.” Though it was possible her father was among Teomner’s men, it wasn’t likely. Not likely enough to get her hopes up.

“Oh,” she said, clearly disappointed.

I took her hand and squeezed it tight. “You will find him.” Then I added more tentatively, “If you do not, come to Melek. You can stay with my family.”

She didn’t answer, and I knew her initial reaction was negative. But she might someday change her mind. She might have to.

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on our assignment. We had not made contact with every resident of the city, but we had been able to help many of them and assure them this was not to be a hostile takeover. We assured them they were not prisoners and would be allowed to leave when full control of the city was in Helaman’s hands.

The Lamanite army did not attack
the city. Instead they fled the entire southwest quarter of our lands, and Kenai followed them until they had gone nearly to the land of Nephi to be sure.

With the possession of Manti and some smaller holdings around it, we had gained back every city the Lamanites had taken.

Years ago, the people in this quarter of the land had been fighting amongst themselves and had thus become weak, allowing the enemy forces to conquer their cities. Before the striplings had come to strengthen Antipus at Judea, Captain Moroni, Chief Captain over all the Nephite armies, had been trying to preserve the strongholds we still had left. He had called the people to repentance and stopped the advance of the Lamanites.

It had taken th
ose efforts of Moroni, and then it had taken us nearly an additional four years, to regain what had been lost during that time of rebellion and unrighteous intrigues among our own people.

After the takeover, many of the residents of Manti stayed in the city, though many that had traveled there with the Lamanite army left and went in pursuit of their men.
Gideon explained to everyone who left with their belongings that the army had traveled south toward the land of Nephi, and Helaman ordered Kenai’s scouts to guide anyone through the mountains who needed guidance.

O
thers who had once lived in Manti returned. I saw many families reunited while I was stationed at Manti. I felt pride and honor and gratitude.

That was why I had come, why I fought in the army. Not because I liked bloodshed or even because I thought I could do the work of a man better than he could.
I thanked God for letting me be his instrument and see the fruits of what I had helped accomplish.

The days went on and life returned to the way it had been in
Judea and Cumeni. The work and training were sometimes tedious, but I tried not to complain. The work was tedious because I was good at it, because I was practiced, and that was a blessing for all. I knew that from practice and work and preparation would come rewards when I needed them most.

I went to
Melia’s each day when I could and we became great friends very quickly. I hadn’t had a female friend since leaving Cana and Leda in Melek, and it was very nice to have someone to laugh with and talk to about the things I couldn’t talk to the boys about—namely themselves.

“Tell me again about your Zeke,”
she said while we were tending to her grandfather.

“I told you. He is the boy I am to marry.”

“But you say this with a frown!” she laughed.

Did
I?

“It is so far in the future. It hardly seems real.” I shrugged as I folded the clean bedding and placed it on a crude shelf in the corner.

“He must be ugly.”

At that
, I laughed and shook my head. I could feel myself blushing.

“An ugly boy will do just as well as a handsome one,” Zeram said.

“Oh, Grandfather!” exclaimed Melia. “An ugly boy will never do.”

He tried to convince us we should both marry ugly boys because they would treat us better, but he was in a good humor, and I saw the gleam of mischief in his eye.

“The boy I marry will be worthy in every way, and that includes being handsome,” Melia informed her grandfather.

His eyes became sad. “I wish I could meet him,” he said. Then his eyes got a faraway look, and soon he had fallen into sleep.

We finished folding the linens in silence, and then Melia walked me out into the street.

I turned to bid her goodbye
and saw Gideon leaning against the hut.

“Hey,
Rabbit.” He came off the wall. “Ready to go?”

It wasn’t unusual for Lib to send someone to walk me back, even after all these years and even within the walls of the city. I had long since stopped being annoyed by it. By preparation and diligence and habits long-formed, I would have a guard in the time when I did need it.

Gideon wasn’t smiling, but his eyes were, and when I saw him, I broke into a welcoming grin.