Seventh Dimension - The King - Book 2, A Young Adult Fantasy (18 page)

I sighed. “I’m
still wondering why we are both here. Why us? Have you met anyone
else that’s from the future?”

Shale shook her head. “I think God brought us
together.”

“Why?” I asked.
“What’s so special about us? Why here? Why you and me?”

Shale leaned
back and placed her head on my shoulder. “Maybe when we meet the
king, he will give us answers. By the way, did you find out where
the king is?”

“Me?” I
asked.

“Yes,” replied
Shale.

I shook my
head. “And you mean teacher.” I set the flask in the grass and
gazed out over the golden field. Sunsets were my favorite part of
the day. I didn’t know how to say it any other way than to be
blunt. “I refuse to call him a king.”

Shale shrugged.
“How about healer—or rabbi?”

“Rabbi might be better.” I was too tired to debate
it further. “You better go and ask Mari. I want to get started. I
hope God grants us success.”

I liked the way that sounded.

Shale stood and brushed the dirt from her dress.
“Wish me luck.”

“No, not luck. I’ll be praying. Don’t forget this.”
I handed her the potion.

“Thanks.” A grin crossed Shale’s face.

For someone who had rejected God, freedom washed
over me unexpectedly. Why had I waited? I should pray before I
talked myself out of it.

I closed my
eyes. “Grant us success in helping Nathan to be healed.”

My first prayer
in two years. How long would I feel this way? Maybe it was the
moment, watching the sunset, Shale’s presence beside me once again,
admiring the fertile valley. The golden hues of the field had
darkened. Clouds drifted by in a mass of swirling reds beneath the
setting sun, as if a great artist had left his imprint on the
sky.

I was excited and afraid. Would we be able to find
the rabbi? I lay on my back, closed my eyes, and dozed.

It seemed only minutes later that I heard footsteps.
When I looked up, I saw Shale.

“We’re all set,” she said excitedly.

“You gave Mari the potion?”

“Yes, she was fine with it. It was easier than I
thought it would be.”

“Great. Now that we’ve taken care of that, where are
we going?”

Shale’s countenance fell. “You didn’t find out?”

I shook my
head. “I didn’t have time to think about it. I assumed you knew. I
found the potion and then became distracted with you and that
cobra.”

Shale bit her lip. “I have no idea where the king
is.”

I had just prayed and now we didn’t even know where
to go. “I thought you had this figured out. This was your
idea.”

Shale remained
quiet, although I could tell she was disheartened. She sat beside
me and put her head on my shoulder. “Daniel, it seems more natural
for you to ask the men than for me.”

I didn’t have
any answers though I liked her being close to me. Then she stood
and walked over to Baruch, sat on the log, and crossed her
arms.

We stared at each other in silence.

I heard
Much-Afraid’s yelps first. She ran over and greeted us.

“How did you
get here?” Shale asked the dog. She scratched Much-Afraid behind
the ear.

Darkness would arrive soon. We needed to know what
to do. I tried not to sound too critical. “Why didn’t you ask me
earlier?”

“I did,” Shale quipped.

“No, you didn’t.”

A couple of minutes passed. It was too late to go
into town and ask.

Shale’s eyes focused on something. I turned. A sheep
approached from the nearby field.

Why would a
sheep be walking all alone? “I should take it back over to the
field—to the other sheep.” I stood.

Shale said, “No, wait.”

“Why?”

She held up her hand for me to be quiet. “The sheep
is talking to me.”

Then the sheep
walked back across the street to rejoin the herd.

“Don’t tell me you were talking to that animal.”

“But I was,” Shale said.

“How can you do that? I didn’t hear anything.”

“Like you can talk to Nathan and I can’t.”

I stared at the
ground. Shale’s ability wasn’t tainted like mine. I remained
silent, wishing I were as good a person as she thought I was. She
would be devastated if she knew the truth.

“So what did the sheep tell you?”

“You know.”

I wasn’t going
to call on the medium. The more I used it, the more it controlled
me. Should I confess to Shale that I was a fraud? My ability to
read minds was wicked and wrong now. Even though it started out as
something good, I had substituted a counterfeit.

I felt a strong
sense of a supernatural presence. Perhaps I should pray. I closed
my eyes. “Abba Father, you once helped me to read minds. Tell me
where we are to find this man Shale believes is a king.”

Nothing
happened. I prayed again, this time more fervently. “Please, show
us the way.” Suddenly, the words appeared in my
mind—miraculously.

“We’re to go to the Decapolis area,” I said.

Shale nodded.

How did that happen? I glanced up at the darkened
sky.

Shale interrupted my thoughts. “Let’s not wait until
the morning. I want to go back to the house to listen now.”

“I’ll stay here
with Baruch. Take Much-Afraid with you.”

Shale slapped
her thighs urging Much-Afraid to follow her. “Come on, you can keep
me company while I wait.”

It seemed only
minutes later when I heard Shale’s voice. For a moment, I had
forgotten where I was. How long had I slept? The moon had moved
across the sky.

“Scylla is asleep. Let’s get Nathan now,” she
whispered.

“Great,” I mumbled. “Let me sleep a little longer.”
I turned over on my other side.

“No, I don’t want to wait. Let’s go now. Who knows
how long the sedative will last.”

I willed my eyes to open. “Right now?”

“Yes.” Shale’s insistence jarred me. I sat up and
rubbed my eyes. It seemed strange to be out in the field at night
kidnapping Shale’s brother from a place I used to call home.

Sleep
deprivation made me see things differently. It seemed too risky.
Why had I agreed? Did I really believe it would make any difference
to Nathan? He’d never been able to speak.

I glanced at
Shale who was so wide-eyed I was annoyed. She stood in my shadow
with her hands on her waist.

I motioned for her to back up. “Give me some space,
okay?” At least I was sitting. “Are you sure you want to do
this?”

Her white teeth
glistened in the moonlight. “Of course I’m sure, and the sooner the
better. Imagine what Nathan’s life would be like if the king—I
mean, the rabbi—healed him. And he’ll be so thrilled to see you.
Please get up.”

“
Okay. Give me
a second.” I stood and stretched my back and arms, and rubbed my
eyes. My contacts were bothering me again, but I was afraid to take
them out in the dark.

“Let’s go.”

“Should we take Baruch with us to the house?” Shale
asked.

“No, he might make too much noise.”

Shale told him
we’d be back shortly. “And you, too, Much-Afraid, stay here with
Baruch.”

The dog lay
down beside Baruch.

I rubbed my
hands to warm them. Hot chocolate would have tasted good right now.
We arrived in front of the house a few minutes later.

“Well, here we are,” Shale said, stating the
obvious.

“Are you sure she’s asleep?” I didn’t want to run
into Scylla in the hallway.

“I heard Mari singing and I’m sure she doesn’t sing
in the middle of the night.”

I walked around to the back and tried to open the
door, but the latch was either stuck or locked. I didn’t want to
bang on it. I tried it again. This time the door moved.

Once inside, I
snuck into Nathan’s darkened room. I hated to disturb him. I waited
for my eyes to adjust.

Then I crept
over to his bed, feeling my way so as not to trip over anything. A
flashlight would have been nice. When I knelt in front of him, I
could hear his restful breathing.

I gently shook him on the shoulder. “Nathan, it’s
me, Daniel.”

He grunted, but didn’t move.

“Nathan, it’s Daniel.”

His eyes popped open. When he saw me, he smiled.

I put my finger over his mouth. “Shush.” He couldn’t
talk, but he could make noises.

I was surprised I could read his thoughts.

“Shale is out front. We want to sneak you out of the
house and take you to a rabbi. Shale believes he can loosen your
tongue. Would you like to be able to talk?”

Nathan nodded eagerly.

“We don’t want to wake up Scylla. She would
worry.”

He nodded again.

I helped him out of bed.

“Be quiet,” I cautioned.

He needed to change into something warmer. “Where
are your clothes?”

He pointed to the corner.

“Good. Do it
quickly.”

While he changed, I made sure everything looked
clear.

“Shush,” I whispered.

His thoughts told me he was nervous.

“Don’t be afraid.” He’d never traveled far from
home. I didn’t know if he had ever been anywhere after dark.

After we left
through the front door, I hurried him along. My heart felt as if it
would thump through my chest. Leaving the house, knowing the most
dangerous part was over, gave me an unexpected buzz.

Shale appeared from behind some bushes.

No sooner had
we reached the street than I heard a crow screeching.

“We’re going to see the king,” Shale said.
“Shush.”

“Your favorite
crow?” I asked.

Shale nodded.

I shrugged. We headed back to where we had left the
animals.

Shale took a
moment to hug Much-Afraid good-bye. “Go to the house and wait for
us to return.”

The dog
whimpered. I felt sorry for her, but she couldn’t go with
us.

Shale patted
Much-Afraid on the head. “We won’t be gone long.”

The dog yelped and ran back to the house, her tail
bobbing as she crossed the field.

How nice it would be if we could all talk to
animals, but if the animals argued, like kids, maybe it wouldn’t be
good.

I turned to other matters as I prepared Baruch for
the journey. Soon we were ready and I lifted Nathan and Shale on
Baruch’s back.

We traveled
through Galilee in the darkness but daylight would arrive soon. I’d
check occasionally to see how Shale and Nathan were doing. I caught
Shale slouched over Nathan. At least Nathan and I caught a few
hours’ sleep earlier—Shale didn’t get any.

We entered the
Decapolis area and arrived on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
mid-morning. Crowds had already gathered on the hillside. The lay
of the land made it a natural amphitheater.

Now that we
were here, I was glad we had brought Nathan—as long as I didn’t
have to get too close to the rabbi. I’d hang out at the back of the
crowd.

I argued with myself. Why was I afraid of him if he
were a false prophet? I also feared the ventriloquist. Had I made a
pact with the devil? I didn’t know where I stood with God.

I was glad for
Shale, that she had found a person to fill her spiritual needs.
Maybe Yeshua was a good man, even a religious man, but what about
the Jews? Would Yeshua be for the Jews also?

Shale jarred me out of my musings. “We’ll need to
leave Baruch here and walk down.”

Shale and
Baruch were talking. Some people stared. I pretended I didn’t know
the young woman.

When Shale finished tethering Baruch, I guided her
and Nathan down the mountain. The rabbi’s popularity had grown and
it was difficult to catch a glimpse of him.

“I see him,”
Shale said excitedly. She pointed to the rabbi.

“Do you want to take Nathan? I don’t want to go any
closer.”

“Why not?”

How could I explain my doubts about his identity? I
kept it simple. “I just don’t want to go any closer.”

Shale clutched
my hand. “You must lead us,” she said. “You are head of the
household, the oldest. You must go with us.”

I relented
despite my misgivings. We picked our way through the crowd, careful
not to step on the small children. The scene reminded me of the
summer concerts in the park in Jerusalem in 2015.

Fear gripped
me—I began to think of reasons why we shouldn’t ask the rabbi to
heal Nathan. Perhaps it was the wrong time. The crowds were waiting
patiently for the teacher to speak.

One of Yeshua’s
followers came up and asked, “What do you need?”

“We have a young mute man who needs to be healed,” I
said.

The man waved his hand at the crowds amassed on the
hill. “The Master is busy. Can’t you see?”

I imagined his day filled with curious onlookers and
naysayers following him everywhere, making demands on his time. I
was exhausted thinking about it.

Shale spoke up.
“Please, let us take Nathan to the healer. We have come a long
way.”

It appeared as
though the rabbi heard Shale, even though he was a good distance
from us.

Shale continued, “If the teacher could touch Nathan,
I know he would heal him.”

The rabbi’s assistant nodded. “Wait here,” he said.
He left to speak to him.

A couple of
minutes later, the healer approached us. Yeshua’s eyes showed
tenderness. “Peace be with you.”