People of the Flood (Ark Chronicles 2) (23 page)

3.

For forty-five years, Rahab had tried to hold the sprawling clan together, ever since that fateful day Noah had cursed Canaan. She lay awake at nights much too often, and she prayed then, seeking Jehovah’s wisdom.

The Hunters…
she frowned the next day as she boiled beeswax in a pot over the hearth. The honey had already been extracted from the honeycomb, leaving just the wax. She added another lump and waited with a wooden spoon. As wax rose, she ladled it into a jar. Later, she would melt the beeswax again and filter out more impurities. Then, melting the wax a last time, she would first place flaxen string into the middle of a mold and pour the beeswax around it. Once the wax cooled, she’d pry out the new candle and repeat the process until either the wax or the roll of flax string ran out.

The shutters hung open
, and a cool breeze admitted the settlement noise of children screaming as they played tag outside. The screaming entered the house, a boy chasing a girl. Hilda burst into the hearth area, with young Enoch hot on her heels.

“
Oh my,” Rahab said. “What’s going on?”

They skidded to a halt, sweaty and laughing, the boy dipping his head
, and Hilda curtsying.

“
We’re playing tag, Great Grandma,” Hilda said.

“
Are you it?” Rahab asked.

“
No, Enoch is. He can’t catch me.”

“
Tag!” screamed Enoch, slapping her back and darting out the kitchen laughing like a madman.

Hilda hugged Rahab
. “Thank you for letting me stay before.”

“
Is your father feeling better?”

Hilda
’s features hardened with concentration. “I’m not sure. He yells more.”

“
Yells?”

“
At… He yells at Semiramis.”

Rahab, who had begun to ladle rising beeswax, regarded Hilda.

“I know I should call her
Mother
. At least everyone says I should.” Hilda fidgeted. “She doesn’t treat me like a mother.” Hilda looked even more cross and stared at the floor. “I’m not supposed to say that.” She looked up. “You won’t tell, will you?”

“
Tell who, darling?”

“
Semiramis. Mother!” Hilda corrected. “I mean my mother, or step-mother.” Hilda’s face threatened to crumple into tears.

“
Of course I won’t tell.”

“
Thank you, Great Grandma. And I promise not to come running in here anymore.”

“
But I want you to.”

Hilda blinked
. “You do? You’re not just saying that?”

Rahab
’s mouth firmed. “Did somebody say you were bothering me?”

“
Uh…”

“
Who told you that?”

“
Do you promise you won’t tell?”

“
Yes, dear.”

“
Semiramis did. Is it all right if I don’t call her mother?”

Rahab studied the young dear, who clutched the front of her dress, leaning her weight from leg to leg
. “You have to listen to your parents, my dear.”

“
I know,” Hilda said, hanging her head.

“
But while you’re with me—just the two of us alone—then you can call her Semiramis.”

Hilda brightened, and it seemed as if tears of happiness would spill.

Anger bit into Rahab, that such a simple action could bring such strong reactions. “I love you, Hilda. And I love it when you visit. You must promise to come over tomorrow and the next day after that.”

“
I will, Great Grandma.” Hilda smiled. “Can I ask you a question?”

“
Of course.”

“
Why does Semiramis put on perfume only in the afternoon? She smells beautiful then. But as soon as she comes home, she soaps herself thoroughly, washing off the nice smell.”

“
Maybe I’ll have to ask Semiramis tomorrow when I take a stroll.”

“
You won’t tell her I said it?”

“
Of course not, dear.” Rahab caught movement by the door and smiled at the sight of little Enoch peeking around the corner. “I have to finish boiling the beeswax. So why don’t you go play with Enoch, and come and see me again tomorrow.”

“
I will,” and Hilda turned and leaped at Enoch.

He screamed in delight, dashing away
. Hilda sprinted after him and out of the house.

Rahab ladled wax into a pot
, and her features grew stern.

4.

Tall Semiramis whistled off-key as she strolled along the forest trail. Her dark hair shone luxuriously. It had been fixed into curls so they framed her face. She wore a yellow dress that swished around her knees and soft deerskin boots that reached as high. The sway of her hips always turned heads, while the bewitching power of her green eyes…

As she wiped a cobweb from her shawl, Rahab stepped out of the underbrush, with two hounds beside her.

Semiramis halted wide-eyed. “What are you doing out here, Grandmother?”

“
Me?”

The wind whispered, rustling leaves
. A few songbirds trilled, while a lone cloud drifted overhead. “Surely you’re not out here alone,” Semiramis said.

Rahab
’s wrinkled hand settled on the head of the nearest hound, a shaggy dog with a wolfish snout. She stood only as tall as Semiramis’s shoulders.

“
Are you lost?” Semiramis asked, with insincere-sounding worry.

“
No. But I wonder if you are.”

Semiramis
’s features sharpened as if someone had slapped her. She looked about again, and she nodded briefly as if to herself.

“
I sent Nimrod home,” Rahab said.

“
Did you now? What was he doing out here?”

“
He waited nearby,” Rahab said, “just leaning against a tree, doing nothing.”

“
Ah. How did you happen to find him?”

“
By watching you earlier.”

“
Me, Grandmother? I don’t understand.”

“
Please,” Rahab said, “let’s not pretend, you and I, not today.”

Semiramis raised lofty, carefully plucked eyebrows.

Rahab shuffled nearer, the dogs keeping pace. She sniffed.

“
Do I stink, Grandmother?”

“
Quite the opposite, my dear. What a lovely perfume.”

Semiramis folded her arms
. “Is it wrong to walk down a trail and wear perfume at the same time?”

Rahab tightened the shawl around her
. She kept in mind Hilda, how awfully Semiramis treated her. It helped a little. The truth was, Semiramis frightened her—as if after all these years, she finally got to face Naamah and found her quite too much to handle.

“
Let me ask you a counter question,” Rahab said. “It is wrong to commit adultery?”

Semiramis
’ manner became icy. She gestured with a hand but remained silent.

“
I’ll answer since you seem unable to,” Rahab said. “Yes, sleeping with someone other than your husband is wrong.”

“
Thank you,” Semiramis said. She seemed to have paled. “I know very well what adultery is.”

“
I imagine you do.”

“
You don’t want to begin with me, Grandmother.” Semiramis clenched her lower lip between her teeth, as if perhaps to bite off her words.

Rahab inched closer even though her heart beat faster and her palms had turned sweaty
. She hated confrontations and was glad to have brought the two hounds. She sensed wickedness in Semiramis.

“
Have you thought what would happen if Beor killed Nimrod?”

“
It would be a terrible tragedy,” Semiramis said. “The tribe would mourn.”

“
Agreed.”

“
But why ask me that?”

“
Think what life would be like if you were driven from the tribe,” Rahab said. “How would you survive?”

“
I’m shocked you think so evilly of me,” Semiramis said. “I admit, I like Nimrod. He’s a hero. But my husband is also a hero. I could never betray Beor.” Semiramis drew her eyebrows together. “Do you realize the heartache your accusations could bring?”

“
I understand; don’t think I don’t.”

“
Then why?” asked Semiramis. “You’re not usually cruel.”

“
Why are you lying to me?” Rahab asked. “Why this pretending?”

“
Grandmother! Please.”

“
I know the power of a woman’s beauty, Semiramis, and the dreadful woe it can bring when her ambitions are relentless like the grave. I urge caution. For you sow the wind and will reap the whirlwind.”

Semiramis folded her arms more tightly.

“Think at least of your obligations,” Rahab said.

“
Which are?”

“
Hilda!”

“
Do you think it’s wise to plow in my field, Grandmother, when your own has so many thorns? Your husband is a drunkard, is he not?”

“
What if I tell the elders you sleep with Nimrod?”

“
Then you’d be lying. And you’d be responsible for starting a war between Canaan and Kush, with everyone choosing sides. I can’t imagine you want that.”

“
These meetings with Nimrod must stop.”

Semiramis gauged her carefully
. “How can I stop what I don’t do?”

Rahab readied to retort.

Semiramis held up a hand. “Very well. To satisfy you, yes, they’ll stop. If I did meet with him, I couldn’t very well continue. Nimrod and his Hunters are leaving soon. I couldn’t see him then even if I wanted to.”

Rahab wasn
’t fooled. But what else could she do other than bring this to the elders and possibly split the tribe over it? “Thank you, Semiramis. I’m glad you see wisdom.”

“
May I go?”

“
I really did send him home,” Rahab said.

“
Of course. I simply wanted to think a few things through. You’ve shocked me. A thing I admit seldom happens these days.”

Rahab nodded, and the two women passed as each went their way.

5.

The Hunters left as the winter rains began
. Fourteen lads led by Nimrod filed out the front gate, each of them wearing an animal cap and an oiled cloak.

Heavy clouds continued to belch hail and rain
, and many feet churned the settlement’s lanes into mud. Shepherds tramped to their chores with dripping hoods and bronze-smiths repaired plows and tools to the drumbeat of sleet.

Ham could never get a clear answer about the brimstone
. The one time he cornered Kush in his house, a closet of bones sidetracked him.

“
What are those?”

“
Those are Nimrod’s,” Kush said.

The closet, a large one, was full of huge bleached bones, piles of them, and a massive skull.

“Are those the dragon’s?”

Kush said they were.

“Why does he keep them?”

“
Ask Nimrod,” Kush said. “He’s impossible to pin down on them.”

“
Like you on brimstone?” Ham asked.

“
Why worry about brimstone?” asked Deborah, speaking from behind her fan. “If my husband has none, you’re the only one who can mix brimstone again. If he saved some, then by now he has studied the amounts of naphtha, bitumen and pitch needed to make more.”

“
Why would you need more brimstone?” Ham asked.

Deborah laughed
. “What if Japheth decided to take Noah at his word? To make slaves of Canaan and his sons?”

“
Japheth isn’t stupid enough to bring his boys into open war against mine. Not even Noah’s curse can give Japheth that much courage.”

Kush grunted as he picked up a dragon bone
. His dark fingers contrasted with it. “But if Japheth and his tribe did attack, a hail of brimstone would change their minds.”

Ham took the bone from Kush
. “Was this the dragon’s forearm, do you think?”

Kush shrugged.

“What about Japheth’s sons?” asked Deborah. “Perhaps Japheth won’t attack us, but Gomer, Magog and Javan all hold Noah in high esteem, and their mother has taught them to think of themselves as kings. Surely they’ve talked about the curse. Maybe to obey Jehovah, they should enslave Canaan. Maybe some of them think the curse includes
all
your sons.”

Ham shook his head
. “We’re all brothers.”

“
Like Cain was Abel’s brother?” Deborah asked.

Ham gave up and hurried into the foul weather
. He hunched his shoulders against the drizzle and tossed a hood over his head.

“
Grandfather!”

Ham turned into the drizzle
. Beor used crutches, thrusting them into the mud, to swing his massive body onto his good leg. Beor wore his outrageous cap and a hairy coat that made him seem like some forest beast.

“
I need your help.”

“
Mine?” Ham asked, getting the impression Beor struggled to control his emotions.

“
I need a wooden leg, one I can walk on.”

Ham tried to picture that.

“Then I want a chariot like yours,” Beor said.

“
Ah,” Ham said. “I see.”

“
No. I don’t think you do see. I don’t think anyone does. But that doesn’t matter. I’ll hunt again. Only instead of legs, I’ll use wheels. And instead of the spear—” The big man glowered. “The bow isn’t my first choice. But I’ll learn to use it. Will you help me?”

“
If you’ll let me get out of the rain,” Ham said.

Five days later
, Beor clumped about on a peg leg, although it took several weeks before he maneuvered without crutches. The chariot took longer.

Ham appreciated Beor’s help, while
Hilda often joined them. As they worked, Ham noticed that Beor never mentioned Semiramis, nor did the beauty ever come out to watch the chariot take shape. When Ham ate at Canaan’s on two occasions, he noticed that neither Beor nor Semiramis spoke to one another.

Beor held up the chassis as Ham hammered on a wheel
. It didn’t have spokes like Antediluvian chariots. This wheel was cumbersome and heavy. To fashion it, Ham had taken three wood sections cut from a plank and laboriously smoothed the edges to a circular shape. In the middle section, the longest piece, he had chiseled out the axle-hole. He had joined the three pieces by cross struts and nailed a leather strip, or tire, around the entire wheel.

This chariot would sit low on four such wheels
. The small chassis was made of a wooden bottom and was U-shaped, with a step in the rear, in the open part of the U. A wooden frame on the sides covered with leather bound the remainder, except for the front, which was made of two shields. Later, the reins would pass through the V between the shields.

They worked in a shed, wind whistling through the boards.

“I hope I’m not intruding into private affairs,” Ham said.

“
What was that?” growled Beor.

Ham coughed discreetly
. “Well… you say very little about Semiramis.”

“
What would you like me to say?”

“
Is she treating Hilda well?”

Beor narrowed bloodshot eyes
. “Has my daughter complained?”

“
No. Of course not.”

“
She’d better not.”

Ham lowered his hammer
. “Don’t you love your daughter?”

Beor grunted as he set the cart onto its wooden blocks
. “I appreciate your help, Grandfather. But does that mean I’m compelled to let you ask me stupid questions?”

“
Why is what I asked stupid?”

“
Let me put it this way.” Beor spoke softly. “Is your question worth dying for?”

Ham noted how Beor
’s massive fingers turned rigid like claws, how the skin around his mouth firmed. Worried, Ham tried to straighten from the wheel. A heavy hand on his shoulder made that impossible.

“
Speak, old man. As you value your life, tell me the truth.”

Murder lust boiled on the big man
’s features. So Ham chose his words with care. “You two never talk. So I just wanted to make sure that nothing I’ve said has come between you.”

Beor searched his face, the pupils darting back and forth, until he grunted and removed his hand.

“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,” Ham said.

“
I don’t want to talk about it.”

“
Certainly.”

“
Ever,” Beor said. “Don’t mention this to anyone.”

Ham decided he
’d learn what was going on when the time was right and not a moment sooner.

When they had finished the chariot, Beor insisted on a four-donkey team
. “I’ve lost a leg, but I still outweigh you. And don’t tell me four donkeys are harder to manage than two. I’ve both the time and the inclination to learn.”

A donkey was a finicky beast, not like the horses of old
. A donkey seemed to have only two speeds, a walk slower than that of a man and a breakneck gallop. A donkey’s tractability, his willingness to obey… it took many hours to train a chariot donkey, as Ham could well attest. But once trained, he found them tractable enough. The telling point in Beor’s wish was the neckband used to harness a donkey. An ox had prominent shoulders that were easy to yoke and allowed the animal to transfer his great strength into pulling heavy loads. A donkey’s narrow shoulders, however, would slip through such a yoke—it was the reason for the neckband. Yet as soon as a donkey drew a load, the neckband constricted its windpipe, choking him if the load was too heavy. A donkey was more spirited than an ox and refused to pull against a neck harness harder than it found comfortable. It was the reason a chariot had to be built as lightly as possible. The exception to this rule being the time the dragon had chased them. Then, even with an overloaded cart and half-choking, the donkeys had run for their lives.

Despite foul weather, the day everything was ready
, Beor insisted that Ham teach him how to drive. Having anticipated such a request, Ham had already half-trained four donkeys. So, that afternoon, Beor and he rattled out the front gate, making trails in the snow.

“
It’s like a ship,” Ham explained, bundled in his furs. “You need sea balance.”

“
I’ve never seen a ship,” heavily-bearded Beor complained.

Ham held the reins with gloved hands and stood easily
. Beside him, Beor leaned against the railing, watching intently.

“
I want you to notice how I absorb the shock with my legs.”

“
You use your knees,” Beor said after awhile.

“
You have only one knee, I know. But the other—”

“
Don’t worry about me.”

Ham wondered whether the big man meant to be so brusque
. Did he know how terse, how moody he’d become? More than a leg had been amputated from Beor. All his good nature, the ability to smile or crack a joke had been cut out of him.

“
Another thing to be aware of is the turn radius,” Ham said. “Antediluvian chariots could spin almost right around, and that at high speeds. Our four-wheeled cart, at anything above the slowest speeds, has a wide turn radius. With this vehicle, only attempt high speeds on open, level terrain.”

They soon switched places, and by dint of sheer effort
, Beor gained a learner’s competence.

As they returned to the settlement, Beor insisted that Ham drive
. Ham agreed, trying not to show off as he brought them through the gate.

They released the donkeys into a corral
, threw a tarp over the chariot and headed down a muddy lane to Canaan’s smithy.

“
Your driving is more skillful than I’d realized,” Beor said, squelching mud under his big boot.

Ham nodded.

“What you did when the dragon chased you.” Beor halted. “I would have died if I’d been driving.”

“
And I would have died if it had been me who charged the dragon with a club. Our skills are relative.”

A wintry smile twisted Beor
’s lips. He held out a huge paw. “My thanks. I won’t forget you or what you’ve done for me.”

Ham shook hands, and as much as he wanted to
, he refrained from asking what that was supposed to mean.

“
I’ll take them out myself tomorrow,” Beor said.

“
Tell me when you’re ready to race.”

The smile cracked a little wider, and Beor turned and clumped away.