Chapter 4
The Moab Priest ~ continued from Chapter 4 | Kill Him
Her saliva fell to the floor as she bared her teeth.
“A wild dog protected him,” said the Moab as his knife glistened in the dark.
She lunged at him again screaming. He caught her and hit her arm but she kept her feet.
The wind blew up outside and screeched wildly along the droveways and paddocks of the village. Nitzevet’s breath came in gasps as she stood her ground. The Moab felt his cut and saw the blood flowing from it.
“Give him to me,” the Moab breathed. “I’ll spare you.”
Nitzevet combed back her hair. She crouched low and charged again with her knife raised.
The Moab leaned away from the charge and pushed her as she tripped going past him and hit the workbench. The tools spilled over and fell loudly to the floor. The Moab breathed deep and hard as he picked his way around the farming tools. He tripped on an ax handle and fell backwards.
Nitzevet fell upon him slashing with her knife. She growled loudly as her knife sliced his stomach and arms. He put up his elbows but she kept cutting at his flesh. Blood spilled onto the floor until a large pool covered the tools and reed matting.
The Moab lay still and Nitzevet remained on her knees breathing loudly. She looked over at David still crouched under the wooden bench. Her eyes burned through the darkness. David ran to his mother and they collapsed together on the bloody floor.
Nitzevet grabbed his hand and took him into the moonlit courtyard. The breeze blew the orchards and terraced landscapes that hugged the high country surrounding the village. The trees bent low as moonlight shone on the black pot, which Nitzevet had brought here so many years ago.
She took the fire stick and turned over the dying embers until they became spirits in the night. From beneath her robe a pouch appeared and she poured the contents into the pot.
Nitzevet kneeled over the pot and breathed in the hissing steam that rose into the night air. She pulled David close and he also took in the water and steam.
Nitzevet fell into a trance and began to spread her arms wide and to reach for the stars:
“Oh blood of Noah, sister Sybil of the Hebrews, show me, show me.”
She fell to the ground her arms still stretched high.
“Rose, tell me your divine code… . show me the way.”
David knelt, holding his mother in the moonlight.
Nitzevet rose up and then fell back to the earth twice more. Out of the pot came a long, thin line of steam that rose up over the two as they lay close to the earth. Nitzevet murmured as she lay bare to the world.
“Who, who?” she whispered over and over.
Continue reading… Chapter 5 | The Scorpion and the Poppy Seed Cakes
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