33 Captain Shedim

  Captain Shedim rode his horse hard but turned around and slowed again, because they needed to wait for the serf who had brought him the news. Captain Shedim ground his teeth. The serf, what was the name? Nabal and he was falling behind, but that could be expected considering the animal he rode. The captain thought about leaving him behind, but reminded himself, you may need him to point out who's involved.

  Captain Shedim looked around at his soldiers, who had also slowed down. They knew their place, and they wouldn’t pull in front of him. He knew that they would obey his orders. They may not have been friends, but they had worked well together for years. What they might be facing was unusual, a dragon, but his soldiers were more afraid of him than anything, even a dragon, and probably their lord.

  Most would have dismissed a tale about a dragon leaving a girl in the care of a village, especially if it was made by a serf. He knew better.

  He ground his teeth again at the delay. He had to find her. If he presented her to his lord, he could name his reward. But the reward as great as any reward would pale in comparison to the vengeance that would fall on him if he did not bring her back. It was enough to make him obedient without a reward.

  If this girl were to escape, it would be his death. If he was lucky. He would wish for his death, that much was certain. He might be able to blame one of his men if something went wrong, but he knew the Lord would exact his revenge. Someone would die. The lord never accepted anything less than perfection from his people.

  "Cain," Captain Shedim said as he slowed down a little.

  Cain, the second in command, rode his horse up a little closer, “Yes, my lord captain.”

  Ride ahead with Esau and Dathan. Go to the opposite side of the village and wait. I don't want anyone to escape."

  "Yes, sir."

  Then Shedim looked back and changed his mind, "No, just you and Esau go to the opposite side. I’ll be leaving Dathan at this end of the village."

  Cain nodded, "Yes, sir."

  And then Captain Shedim saw a lascivious smile cross Cain’s face and growled. "Do not touch the girl, or you won’t have anything to smile about again."

  Cain frowned and said, "But”

  Shedim leaned out of his saddle and pointed his finger at his subordinate. “NO! If anything happens to her, the lord will have our skins."

  Cain's eyes went wide, "Yes. Yes, sir. We won’t lay a hand on her."

  "If you allow anything to happen to her, you won’t have to worry about the lord because I'll have yours."

  The soldier next to Cain sneered and said. "The lord doesn't care what happens to these people. He doesn’t care if we have a little fun."

  Captain Shedim looked at the man and said, “Normally, Keen, but this is different. There's a dragon involved."

  "Do you really think so?" Keen said, "Sounds like a made-up story to me."

  Captain Shedim shook his head. "No! I've heard the tales. It's a dragon, and he's got a girl. Trust me, you cannot under any circumstances touch her, unless she might getting away."

  Cain shook his head, "Whatever you say, Captain, but Esau won’t care what you say.”

  “Kill him, if you have to.” Captain Shedim shouted, “It's on you. No despoiling the girl. No touching except to restrain her, and that's it. Anything else, and then what I take back to the lord will be her and your head. Got it?"

  Cain nodded. Captain Shedim knew Cain was a good soldier and would do what had to be done. If Esau wasn’t so good in a fight, Captain Shedim would have reassigned him years before now or just dumped his body in a ditch. Either way, Cain didn’t deserve this much dressing down. So, he said in a regular tone, "But I don't care what you have to do. Nothing happens to the girl."

  "Whatever you say, Captain." Cain shook, understanding what Captain Shedim had been thinking.

  Captain Shedim looked back at his next in command and said with a laugh, "Cain, trust me, if all goes well, we’re in for a reward bigger than you can imagine.”

  Cain’s eyes went wide, but before he could say anything, Captain Shedim said with a smile, “Have I ever led you wrong?"

  "No!” Cain laughed. “Well, except maybe that time with that widow woman over in."

  Before he could say any more, Captain Shedim cleared his throat and said, "Let's not even go there.” He paused for a moment, "You were just as much at fault in that, and that is that."

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  "Probably," Cain laughed, then changed the subject, "if this girl is as important as you think she is?” Cain raised his eyebrows and slowed his horse a little bit more, which caused Captain Shedim to slow also.

  “She is!” Captain Shedim said.

  "Really?"

  "Really. Don't ask any questions. Get to it." Cain nodded and dropped back to grab Esau, then rode on ahead. Captain Shedim looked back and slowed his horse again.

  He reminded himself he couldn't get too far ahead of their informant. The rumors about a princess being kidnapped by a dragon had flown all over the continent, maybe all over Adamah. Captain Shedim was sure that, as wild as they were, they couldn’t be other than true. He was also certain he could find a royal brat in a group of commoners. However, he couldn’t take a chance if he was wrong. He needed this man to point out who the girl was, princess or not.

  One thing Captain Shedim was sure of was who was hiding the girl. It had to be Abba-Avi, Bat-Avi's father. It disturbed him that the lord had given Bat-Avi special favor just because she made some bread he enjoyed. However, he was sure that if anyone would resist, it would be Abba-Avi.

  It's time they learned their place, Captain Shedim thought. No amount of bread, no matter how much the lord liked it, is going to keep them safe. Captain Shedim smiled. This is the perfect chance.

  Captain Shedim looked ahead and could see the edge of the village. This was it. He slowed down the troops to just a walk and began to give the orders. " Dathan, stay here! Make sure no one escapes this way.” He pointed at the informant. "You! Get up here! Tell me where she can be found."

  Abba-Nabel came forward on his horse and pointed to the other end of the village. "Down there, my captain.”

  “Get off your horse, serf. and show me." Captain Shedim said, and when Abba-Nabel got off the horse, the captain took the reins. He handed the reins to the soldier behind him, then said, “You don't need to be riding now."

  Nabal nodded and looked at the horse. It was the best one in the village, and Abba-Nabal knew he would never see it again.

  Captain Shedim stared at Abba-Nabel, "Now walk and show me this place. If you speak the truth, you will receive our lord's favor. If you are lying, I will kill you in the center of town."

  When the man turned and began to move quickly down the street, Captain Shedim smiled. It was good to be in charge.

  Sara soon found herself in the cellar underneath Abba-Avi's house. It was more comfortable than she guessed, but it was still a cellar. It was still dark and dusty. She could hear what was going on above, and some light came through the floorboards. Yet, the floorboards were so put together that if someone broke through the floor, they still wouldn't see her.

  Sara was amazed. The need to have a place like this, which showed her just how much they feared this lord. For the first time in her life, she wondered if war would be a good choice. Could bringing soldiers in to depose this warlord, this lord, be good for these people?

  Yet, she also realized that by doing so, her own people would lose their lives. She remembered all she read about war and the costs. She decided that there were things in her own nation she probably needed to fix first, before trying to fix the rest of the world. Though if there was any way she could help these people, she wanted to.

  She didn't know how, and as she sat there waiting, ideas came to mind. Could she find a way to sneak them into Rishona? Could she refuse to trade with these people? But she realized if she did, the lord would still take what he needed, and people somewhere would suffer. Sara shook her head. Mistress Carmarthen often said, there were no easy answers.

  Sara almost laughed, you’re hiding in a cellar from some sort of renegade lord, far away from your country. Now is not the time to plan a war or the reformation of another country. Now's the time to stay safe.

  So, Sara focused again upon all she'd had. She had her pack with the things she had grabbed before leaving the valley. Anything that was not Abba-Avi’s, she took down with her. He made it clear that if they found anything, he would be in trouble. And so, she had opened up the hiding place, took everything, threw them in her pack, and went into the cellar with her staff, leaving no evidence of her presence.

  And now she waited. She appreciated the fact that Abba-Avi had given her some water and some things to eat, a bit of fruit, and a piece of dried meat, so that while she was waiting, she wouldn't go hungry.

  Sara didn't know how long she'd have to sit down here. Abba-Avi said it could be as late as this afternoon, but he doubted it. And sure enough, she heard something going on outside. She listened, and finally she heard the door to the cottage above bang open.

  "Where is she, old man?" came the voice of the man who was clearly in charge.

  Abba-Avi was sitting, Sara knew by the fireplace, and she could hear the answer.

  "Who?"

  "You know who we're talking about!" the man shouted.

  Sara could hear several men moving into the room. This was not going to be good.

  “The girl who came with the dragon.”

  "I do not know what you've been told, Captain. But no girl came with that dragon. The dragon landed in the middle of the village and then left a short time later.” Sara heard a smack and knew that Abba-Avi had been slapped.

  “You know what I want, tell me! Abba-Avi."

  Sara could hear Abba-Avi standing up. "Yes, a girl came by a short time before the dragon came. The dragon asked questions of her, but as soon as she found out that Nabal had left to tell you. She left! She walked right out that door."

  "How long ago was that?"

  "Maybe an hour.” Abba-Avi lied, “I believe. If you hurry, she may have gone to the south, down someplace."

  "How do we know you're not hiding her?" The captain asked after Sara heard some whispering.

  "You are free to search my house, my lord." There was another slap, and Sara heard a body hit the floor.

  "I am not the lord. I am the captain, and we will," and with that, Sara began to hear Abba-Avi's house being torn apart, boards broken, things thrown off walls. Sara cringed. The man didn't have much, and now it was being ruined, ruined because of her.

  After a few minutes Sara heard another soldier say "We can't find anything. There are no hidden passages no hidden places in this house." the mocking tone and the captain's laugh made it clear that he didn't believe it.

  The man who first responded said, "Well, there was one spot upstairs, my lord. There was a small place we found but it had nothing in it, but these."

  Sara remembered that there were some old love notes up in the place, and now Sara was glad that she had left them. Having a hiding place with something in it was better than an empty one.

  Captain growled and stomped his feet. "This is junk."

  Then Sara heard something that made her heart ache.

  "Grab him! We'll announce in the center of the village. If the girl doesn't come back, we'll kill him."

  And if she doesn't come back an hour after that, we'll kill another one. We'll see if this girl is as virtuous as this dragon thinks she is."