were bearing down, strong as hoofbeats. Terror roiled Karim’s gut. He kicked one last time with frenzied determination.
The engine roared to life.
He gave it gas as the man reached him and latched on to the carrying case. Karim swerved right and then left to shake him loose.
The man coughed on the swirling dust. “I’ll kill you!”
Karim revved the engine: the motorbike surged forward. The man’s weight shook the bike, causing it to swerve wildly. Karim fought to keep his balance, steering straight and accelerating until he broke the man’s grip. Glancing over a shoulder, Karim saw him hit the ground. When Karim reached the road, he watched him get up and start running. Turning left, Karim passed a gray Chevy Impala parked on the shoulder. The man must be running toward it.
Karim guided the motorbike up the highway. He decided to ride through the desert, where no car could follow.
Tires squealed behind him.
He turned and glimpsed the Impala catching up. He left the road and steered into the desert, wondering who the man was and why he was prepared to kill for the scroll. Even more, he wondered about the writing. Whose hand had etched it onto the papyrus? What did the writing say? These questions were impossible to answer, but thinking about them sent excitement snaking through him as he sped into the desert.
CHAPTER TWO
Roman Times
Jerusalem, AD 30
ON THE MORNING OF HER WEDDING, JUDITH OF JERUSALEM KNEW SHE COULDN’T GO THROUGH WITH IT. She woke up before dawn drenched in sweat. Stomach churning, she put on her tunic and sandals and felt her way to the bedroom window. Oh, why am I not attracted to Gabriel? The lament that had haunted her for months now sounded like a scream. She stared into the darkness that draped Jerusalem like a shroud, her breathing short, her head throbbing.
She liked and admired Gabriel ben Zebulun but could not marry him. She stumbled toward the nightstand beside the bed. On it stood the candle in the brass holder that she had set out the night before. The candle that she must light and place in the window.
The candle that would signal Dismas, Gabriel’s older brother, that she would elope with him instead.
Judith hesitated. How could she do it? If she ran away with Dismas and they were caught, they would be stoned to death as adulterers. Her quivering fingers touched the candle. She drew back, terrified. She tiptoed into the hall to listen for the steady breathing of her parents, her older brother and his wife, and her two younger sisters. Relieved that no one was stirring, she paused by the lamp outside her parents’ door and caught a whiff of the flame’s oily scent.
She thought of Reuben, her brother who had died a year earlier at age four. He should have been here too. But he was gone—because of the Romans. Because they had murdered him as sure as she was standing here. Her throat tightened, as it did whenever she remembered Reuben and how his death had occurred. Fighting back tears, she returned to her room and sat down on the bed.
Oh God, oh God, what should I do? She wiped sweat from her forehead and groped for the candle again. Her hands shook like those of a leper. She glanced out the window to see the stars glittering in the silent purple sky, beckoning her. If Dismas didn’t come before the sun rose, she would be forced to marry Gabriel, the man her father had chosen for her a year earlier. The man she did not love, but couldn’t bear to hurt.
She again reached for the candle, and then quickly withdrew her hand. Her passion for Dismas had so consumed her these past few months that she never questioned her decision to run away with him. Until now. Gabriel offered her the security she had always known as the well-educated daughter of a wealthy spice trader. She considered him handsome in an understated, approachable way. Not only did his boyishly endearing features frame the most serene brown eyes she
The engine roared to life.
He gave it gas as the man reached him and latched on to the carrying case. Karim swerved right and then left to shake him loose.
The man coughed on the swirling dust. “I’ll kill you!”
Karim revved the engine: the motorbike surged forward. The man’s weight shook the bike, causing it to swerve wildly. Karim fought to keep his balance, steering straight and accelerating until he broke the man’s grip. Glancing over a shoulder, Karim saw him hit the ground. When Karim reached the road, he watched him get up and start running. Turning left, Karim passed a gray Chevy Impala parked on the shoulder. The man must be running toward it.
Karim guided the motorbike up the highway. He decided to ride through the desert, where no car could follow.
Tires squealed behind him.
He turned and glimpsed the Impala catching up. He left the road and steered into the desert, wondering who the man was and why he was prepared to kill for the scroll. Even more, he wondered about the writing. Whose hand had etched it onto the papyrus? What did the writing say? These questions were impossible to answer, but thinking about them sent excitement snaking through him as he sped into the desert.
CHAPTER TWO
Roman Times
Jerusalem, AD 30
ON THE MORNING OF HER WEDDING, JUDITH OF JERUSALEM KNEW SHE COULDN’T GO THROUGH WITH IT. She woke up before dawn drenched in sweat. Stomach churning, she put on her tunic and sandals and felt her way to the bedroom window. Oh, why am I not attracted to Gabriel? The lament that had haunted her for months now sounded like a scream. She stared into the darkness that draped Jerusalem like a shroud, her breathing short, her head throbbing.
She liked and admired Gabriel ben Zebulun but could not marry him. She stumbled toward the nightstand beside the bed. On it stood the candle in the brass holder that she had set out the night before. The candle that she must light and place in the window.
The candle that would signal Dismas, Gabriel’s older brother, that she would elope with him instead.
Judith hesitated. How could she do it? If she ran away with Dismas and they were caught, they would be stoned to death as adulterers. Her quivering fingers touched the candle. She drew back, terrified. She tiptoed into the hall to listen for the steady breathing of her parents, her older brother and his wife, and her two younger sisters. Relieved that no one was stirring, she paused by the lamp outside her parents’ door and caught a whiff of the flame’s oily scent.
She thought of Reuben, her brother who had died a year earlier at age four. He should have been here too. But he was gone—because of the Romans. Because they had murdered him as sure as she was standing here. Her throat tightened, as it did whenever she remembered Reuben and how his death had occurred. Fighting back tears, she returned to her room and sat down on the bed.
Oh God, oh God, what should I do? She wiped sweat from her forehead and groped for the candle again. Her hands shook like those of a leper. She glanced out the window to see the stars glittering in the silent purple sky, beckoning her. If Dismas didn’t come before the sun rose, she would be forced to marry Gabriel, the man her father had chosen for her a year earlier. The man she did not love, but couldn’t bear to hurt.
She again reached for the candle, and then quickly withdrew her hand. Her passion for Dismas had so consumed her these past few months that she never questioned her decision to run away with him. Until now. Gabriel offered her the security she had always known as the well-educated daughter of a wealthy spice trader. She considered him handsome in an understated, approachable way. Not only did his boyishly endearing features frame the most serene brown eyes she
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