I thought he might cry, but he gathered himself and hushed his mount until Raza’s panicked breathing calmed. Then, whispering a prayer to his god, Judah quickly withdrew his curved dagger and slit the camel’s throat.
Raza did not struggle as her blood spilled onto the rocky path. She rested her head on the ground and closed her eyes, as though welcoming the one fate that surely freed her from a harsh existence.
I watched in silence, remembering my son’s fate, wondering if my own would be similar. Could I die so gracefully? Perhaps Raza and my son shared the most fortunate fate among us.
Judah was quiet that night. He and Saba harvested Raza’s liver and heart, welcome treats after a week of only bread and dates and milk. We did not have time to dry any meat, so we ate only what was most nourishing and left the rest for any buzzards that might venture so deep into the Nafud. Without Raza’s milk our daily portions would be cut, but this would not cause a problem, Judah said.
The other camels were by now attached to Raza, and they wandered about the camp, moaning and staring at her corpse near the rocks.
We rose early and left the camp while it was dark. Never had I been so grateful to be out in the open sands once again. Within the hour Judah, now mounted on the male camel, began to sing again. He would not allow himself to dwell on Raza’s passing, for camels live and die at the whim of fate, and man is master over beast. This too is the Bedu way.
But the smile he offered me as a red sun rose over the dunes behind us wasn’t as bright as it had been the day before, and I knew that he mourned Raza still.
“We are almost across the sands, Maviah. Soon you will be in Galilee and in Herod’s courts.”
“Soon,” I said, returning his smile. Indeed, we were more than halfway.
But then thoughts of what I would do if I did gain entrance to Herod’s courts overtook me.
“How are women seen in Palestine?”
“They will accept you, Maviah. You have the dagger of Varus.”
“Yes, the dagger, but I am a woman. How do the Jews count a woman?”
“I am a Jew,” he said. “And I count the woman who rides beside me now as a star in my sky.”
I blushed. Saba had heard and turned our way. Why I should feel bashful, I didn’t know. Perhaps because I was afraid to acknowledge my own longing even though I could not deny that I was drawn to Judah.
“They say Herod’s lust for beautiful women knows no end,” Saba said. “Rami is no fool to send his daughter.”
Judah glared at the dark warrior. “You dare speak this way in front of her? What is this madness?”
Saba’s right brow arched. He glanced at me, then faced the sands ahead. “I mean no offense, Judah. Maviah is well equipped to know the truth.”
“This is the truth: I will sever the arm of any man who dares lift a finger against you, Maviah.”
“Rami does not ask for Herod’s arm,” Saba said. “Only his favor. At whatever cost.”
“Pay Saba no mind. I will not allow Herod to touch even one hair on your head!”
And yet even as the sun rose high, I did pay Saba’s statement some mind. Truly, I was even more concerned about this king who had such lust for power and pleasure.
But all my thoughts were swept away that afternoon when the winds rose at our backs. The sandstorm came so quickly that even Judah and Saba were caught off guard.
We were spread wide on rolling white dunes, plodding under a glaring sun. Judah was slumped in the wooden saddle, haggard, I thought. Saba rode far ahead and to my right, cresting the next low dune.
It was then that I looked up and saw Saba waving his hands. His shout was distant but urgent. Judah’s cry of alarm joined it. He’d turned his mount and was headed toward me.
“Down! Take Shunu to the ground!”
I twisted in the saddle and saw the storm then, only a hundred paces behind us, a churning wall of sand approaching with such speed that for a moment I thought it was sliding down a large dune.
The hot wind hit my face and I gasped. Even in that gasp, before the chaos was fully upon us, I sucked in the leading sand.
Shunu roared and jumped into a run, nearly toppling me from her back.
“No, Shunu. Slow, slow!” She slowed, and I dropped to the ground, lead rope firmly in hand. But the moment I landed, we were smothered by darkness. The sand swallowed us, and Shunu bolted again, tearing that lead from my grasp.
I screamed at her. “Shunu!” I stumbled in the direction she’d gone, instinctively hiding my face in the folds of my sleeve. “Shunu!”
My second call didn’t reach my own ears, for the roar of the wind tore it away from me. I could not see, nor could I breathe. The sand was too thick, swirling around me so that I lost all sense of direction.