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“Abby, wait.” Watson took hold of his sister’s arm. “Don’t go. Stay for the meal, then we can go after Adam together.”
“I want to catch him before he gets too far. Let me go.” She wrested her arm free.
“You need to eat. And ... it’s not a good idea for you to go alone.”
“I’m afraid if he sees us all coming, he’ll run. But if it’s just me ... I know I can get through to him. He listens to me.”
“Yes, he does. But how much of his listening is desire for the truth, and how much is desire for you?”
Abigail’s face reddened. “You think I’m going after him because ...”
Watson clasped her hand with both of his and met her fierce gaze with a tender one of his own. “Abby, I know you have good motives. You want Adam to meet the Ruler. I do too. But we both know other motives can entwine themselves with our good ones. I’ve seen how you look at him, and—”
Abigail turned away. Watson touched her shoulder, but she pulled free.
Watson sighed.
She turned back and looked up at Watson with glassy eyes. “If we just let him go, what will happen to him?”
Watson took his sister’s hand and placed in her palm a piece of the cottage with a bold inscription. “Do not go near the door of temptation’s house. Her hands are chains. Venture too close, and you will be ensnared. Her slain are a mighty throng.”
Abigail took the piece but didn’t close her hand around it.
*****
Crouched in a cave overlooking the wooden banquet hall, Anzu kept watch. He moved further back in the cave. The guardians surrounding this hall were some of the most dangerous in the region. He knew his chances of remaining undetected were slim, and if discovered, there would be no escape.
Venturing into the high country was one thing, but operating this close to the wooden hall ... he wondered if Adramelech had intentionally assigned him to a task that would end in his demise.
The warriors had suffered defeat in the last encounter with Kailyn, Abigail, and Watson, even though the humans had been caught off guard. Now that they were alert, they would be near impossible to defeat as a group. Adam must be kept far from them and from any other cottage people—especially Layth. If anyone other than Abigail followed Adam, Adramelech was to be alerted at once.
Three warriors flashed across the front of the cave. What on earth? Anzu stepped out and nearly collided with Morax. Anzu scowled. “What are you doing here? I thought you were assigned to Levi.”
Anzu’s irritation doubled when Morax ignored the question. Without slowing, Morax and his crew of warriors maneuvered through the trees to the back of the hall.
Judging from the elite team, Anzu figured Adramelech must have sent them on a mission to capture someone from the hall. He figured right. Minutes later, they emerged with their victim.
Hodia? Wow. Even Anzu had to admit, this was an impressive capture.
Morax would have disregarded Anzu again, but Anzu caught his arm and squeezed. “Where are you taking her?”
“To the lowlands. Now let go.” Morax’ hand went to his sword.
Anzu relented. Morax was smaller but much faster, and this wasn’t the place for a skirmish anyway.
“The lowlands? What is that going to accomplish? She won’t take fruit. Hodia hasn’t eaten so much as a grape in twenty years.”
“Yes,” Morax acknowledged with a subtle grin, “and she’s proud of it.”
*****
East of the hall, Lucius receded into the trees, glaring at Adam. “Let me take him now,” he whispered.
Adramelech raised his hand, silencing the lieutenant. He said nothing for several minutes. Then he pointed to the south. Lucius turned to see a petite figure entering the grove.
Abigail stepped slowly, cautiously. “She knows we’re here,” Adramelech said. “Stay quiet. Don’t spook her.”
Lucius understood now what Adramelech meant when he spoke of the greater prize. Abigail’s desires for Adam were becoming strong enough that she would soon be deceivable. They had likely lost Levi, but there was a real chance not only to strengthen their hold on Adam but to capture Abigail as well. And if she fell, a significant number in her network of friends would follow.
*****
Abigail found Adam sitting against a log with his face in his hands. She approached him silently from behind.
Without lifting his head Adam spoke. “I’m not going back, Abigail.” Then he stood and turned to face her. “I’m glad you came. More than you know. But ... I ...” He turned away. “I can’t go back.”
Abigail took his hand and made him face her. “Why did you leave?”
He sighed. “I know you and your friends enjoy that food, and I respect that. But it’s ... it’s just not for me.”
She strained to hide her heartbreak.
Adam went on, “I’ve never been more miserable than I am now. It’s like something is pressing me down. I just want to be happy. I can’t go the rest of my life without fruit.”
“The fruit gives you pleasure, not happiness. You’re only thinking of the taste. But think about what it’s like when the taste is gone and you’ve swallowed. That isn’t happiness, is it?”
“Of course it’s happiness! What’s so wrong about eating fruit anyway? It doesn’t hurt anyone. What is fruit for if not the stomach? And the stomach for fruit. It’s the most natural thing in the world.”
“It’s natural for a merely natural person, but right or wrong has nothing to do with naturalness.”
“Then why is it wrong?”
“Because it dishonors the Ruler when you prefer garbage over his delicacies. And it’s self-destructive. It strengthens you to resist the wind. It blinds you to the colors. It destroys your appetite. And it—”
“Is that why I couldn’t taste the food—because I still want fruit?”
“I think so. Can you run in opposite directions at the same time? Your will can’t do that anymore than your body can.”
Adam huffed in frustration. “I’ve gone all this time without eating fruit, and where has it gotten me?”
“You stopped eating fruit, but you did not stop loving it. Your appetites follow what your soul clings to. And you reap what you sow in your thoughts. A few minutes of letting your affections attach to fruit is like sowing weed seeds in your heart, and the harvest is a whole lot of Judas desires. Every thought you entertain is a step in some direction. If you keep taking steps in your mind toward evil, you will eventually arrive at the destination you’ve been walking toward. But if you kept your thoughts on the cottage—”
Adam turned away, but she stepped in front of him. “Your stomach was not made for fruit. The Ruler designed your body with appetites that can only be satisfied by his delicacies. You are restless, Adam, and you will remain restless until your soul finds rest in the Ruler.”
Adam shook his head. “I’m just not ready. Maybe someday I’ll—”
“No. Today is the day to come. Don’t you understand? You don’t have forever.” She drew a cottage piece from her bag.
Adam lifted a hand. “No, I don’t want another—”
“Take it.”
He pushed his hands into his pockets.
Abigail held the inscription in front of his face. He looked away at first but finally read the words. “Seek him while he may be found?”
“It’s a warning. The door won’t stay open forever. The wind will only blow on your life for so long. If you keep resisting, it will stop. And then you can never come.”
She took hold of his arm with both hands. “Come with me back to the dinner. There are some foods you didn’t try. Maybe if you—”
“I don’t think so. I can’t go back there. Being in that place does nothing to make me desire the cottage.” Then he squeezed her hand. “But being with you does. I think if we could be together, over time I would come to desire the cottage.”
She felt her hand tighten around his.
“Come with me,” he said. “Surely the wind will keep blowing as long as you’re with me.”
She withdrew her hand.
“Please, Abigail. I’ll never pressure you to eat any fruit, but I need you to be with me.”
She attempted to turn her gaze from him, but her eyes refused. There was something in Adam she admired. She wanted to be with him. But ...
“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” he said. “I’m sure other men have told you that. But for me, it’s more than just your beauty. There is something inside you that comes out through your smiles and your words that activates all kinds of things in me I didn’t know were there—things like compassion and courage and desire for good things. There is a purity in your soul that makes me want to be a better man—the man I should be. Please, just come with me.”
She turned toward the banquet hall and then back to Adam. The high country was her home. The people were family. The food gave her life. But what would happen to Adam if he went back to the city alone? He’d never make it past the grasslands.
Her hair moved in the gentle breeze. The draft carried the stench of the warriors to her nose. She sensed danger.
“I’m sorry. I can’t go with you. Charles always tells us, ‘Walk with the wind, and you won’t want the fruit.’ The wind is not blowing away from the cottage. It never does.”
“I’m not asking you to abandon the cottage—or the Ruler. You can still love him with all your heart and soul wherever you are, can’t you?”
“It isn’t just a matter of my heart and soul, but also my body. I am not my own. I was bought with a price and I must honor the Ruler with both my affections and my actions.”
“Bought with a price? What price?” As quickly as he asked, he raised his hand. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. You may owe some kind of debt to the Ruler, but I’m a free man. And I have to follow my heart.”
“Your heart is the worst thing you could follow. Nothing will deceive you more thoroughly.”
“Abigail, can’t you see that I don’t belong here?”
“Maybe not. But you can change where you belong. Just stay for a while—at least until your wounds heal.”
“I’m stronger now than I’ve been in a long time. I think that means I’m supposed to go. I feel no resistance to walking east, and I am at peace with this decision. If you’re determined to stay, I understand.” He held her gaze with pleading eyes, then turned to go.
After a few steps he turned to her again. “If you ever change your mind, I’ll be waiting for you.”
Abigail watched until he disappeared down a trail leading to the ridge where he had seen the bag of fruit. She leaned back against a tree. Her legs weakened, she slid to the ground, and wept. The wind had enabled her to make the right choice. But why did it have to be so painful?
The breeze brushed her again and she probed deeper into her own motives.
The Ruler had sent her to bring Adam to the cottage. She wanted to please the Ruler, and she wanted Adam to know true joy. Both good motives. Is all that negated if she happened to like Adam? She remembered the day she gave him the cottage piece and noticed the calluses on his hand. She admired a hard-working man. The hall could use more men like him—a man’s man. And a kind man. A man who knows how to treat a woman.
Her thoughts drifted to the time they had spent together. She loved how he made her feel. Abigail attracted the attention of a lot of men, but Adam was different. With him, she felt at once desired, valued, and respected. She could tell her words mattered to him.
She wrapped her arms around herself, aching for his companionship.
*****
Adam made good time down to the river, across, and up through the grasslands. He stayed alert, but the only movement in the silent darkness was his own.
As he approached the tree line, he hoped the bodies would be gone. Instead, to his horror, a new mutilated corpse lay in the path. This one looked to be the most vicious killing yet.
He didn’t want to look, but the thick brush bordering the path forced him to step over the gruesome obstacle. As he did, he felt the blood drain from his face.
It was Levi!