Chapter Eight

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Leaving Home

© Jeannie St. John Taylor

“And the (fallen) angels, the children of the heaven, saw (the human women)

and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives

from among the children of men and beget us children.’”

Book of Enoch, Section One 6:1

Huge chunks of stone littered the garden. A marble foot and leg rested in the fork of

a tree close to the house. Missing slabs of travertine rendered the home’s façade jagged in several places.

Shua led the way through a still-intact maze of hedges, wound around a clump of

small trees and past the orange azalea. Slaves had propped the dragon fountain against the yellow marble wall where its snout could poke through an arch to support the statue in an upright position. The colorful mosaic pavement that once surrounded the fountain lay crumbled.

Once on the other side of the pavement, Shua ducked behind the roots of an

upturned tree and froze. Atarah mirrored her actions. The slave, eyes wide with fear, silently raised her eyebrows, turned slightly toward Atarah and angled her head toward the house.

Nympha and her most recent flame had come out onto the balcony again and were

looking into the garden. How long had they been there? A chill quivered through Atarah and she suddenly realized she was gasping for breath, her heart beating loudly in her ears.

Her sister obviously hadn’t noticed them yet, because if she had she would be

shrieking for help. Still, she would see them if they moved now. Atarah tightened her arms around the baby praying he wouldn’t awaken and make a noise. If Nympha and her companion failed to go back into the house before Mother’s meeting ended, either Dagaar would discover Atarah’s absence or slaves returning to the summer kitchen would spot them. They dare not move.

Several minutes passed before Nympha casually looped an arm through the man’s

and they turned to enter the house. Instantly, Shua darted through an arch in the marble wall not far from the damaged dragon and sped down the breezeway on the other side. Atarah followed.

The baby whimpered, but by then Atarah could hear Nympha screaming from the

house. She must have discovered Gadreel was missing from Atarah’s chambers. Nympha’s commotion would cover the baby’s crying.

Shua led Atarah into the slave quarters and down a long dark hallway that wound

between the slave rooms and through another door hidden in a rough wooden wall. “Does Dagaar know about this place?” She fought back the fear closing around her. Why hadn’t the Dream come to prepare her? She needed the Light that always reminded her not to fear.

“I don’t think so.” Shua breathed hard, too. “Maybe.”

Behind the door, they entered the roofed privacy-alley that extended the length of the property and separated Atarah’s home from several large estates on the other side. Originally constructed to provide safety in the middle of a violent city, the alley was no longer in use. More than one unfortunate woman had been found raped and murdered in alleys like it across the city.

“Half of the roof has fallen in.” Atarah fumed. “And Dagaar probably knows about this alley!” Why had she trusted the slave?

Shua pointed in the direction of the house. “Fallen rocks and boulders have

completely blocked the only entrance Dagaar knows about. I don’t think anyone will figure out I opened up a way in here.”

They’d walked only a few feet in the opposite direction when a large boulder blocked their way. The slave blanched. “Oh no!”

“You didn’t clear this end?” Every muscle in Atarah’s body ached with fear.

      “I did. The boulder wasn’t here last night.”

“Then why’s the path closed off now?”

“This morning’s quake.”

Without hesitating, Atarah unwound her scarf from around the baby and thrust him

toward Shua. There was no time to be gentle. “Wait here.” She clambered to the top of a boulder two times taller than herself. Loose stones tumbled around her feet. Rough rock scraped her fingers. Thank goodness they weren’t in the alley when the quake hit. They could have been crushed.

            She lay atop the rock panting. Most of the roof above her head was gone, and outside light allowed her to see a good ways down the narrow tunnel. The going would be rough, but the way appeared passable and obviously they couldn’t stay where they were. They must go forward.

She reached for the baby. “Hand him to me.” She leaned over the side as far she could while Shua stood on tiptoe, holding him up to her. As soon as the baby was firmly in Atarah’s hands, Shua climbed up beside her. With Atarah in the lead now, the women slid to the ground behind the barrier and squeezed sideways down the tight tunnel. Progress was slow because of newly-fallen debris and rocks. Atarah fought claustrophobia, praying that the way ahead remained clear.

“There was a lot more space before,” Shua said.

“Are you starting to hyperventilate?”

“I’m claustrophobic. Doesn’t the small space bother you?”

“I’m trying not to think about it.” Atarah flashed a crooked smile. “Let’s just keep remembering that this morning’s cave-in is a good thing. Even if Dagaar finds the entrance he’ll think we couldn’t possibly have gotten past the big rock.”

“And he’s probably too big to get through here.”

They walked slowly, checking for loose rocks before each step. Sometimes the sky

could be seen above them where the ceiling had collapsed into the alley. At those times the women turned faces upward and sucked in deep gulps of fresh air. Once they were forced to scale another obstacle wedged into the passageway. From the vantage point at the top of the boulder, Atarah could survey the gardens at the back of neighboring manors and see ahead to where houses ended near the city wall. Nothing moved. How could the city appear so quiet and peaceful with disaster all around?

“No one’s out there,” Atarah commented. At least not yet. But Dagaar wasn’t stupid.

He’d figure out their plan eventually. They had to stay ahead of him.

They continued for more than half an hour, taking time to brush over their tracks in

the dust to erase any signs of their passing. Sometimes they went a step further and removed all disturbances in the dirt by dropping loose rocks on the path.

At times they shimmied through newly-dug holes at ground level. “You dig out all

these?” Atarah asked.

Shua nodded.

At length, they pressed through the smallest opening yet. On the other side, using a shovel conveniently left beside it, Atarah and the slave filled the gap with dirt and small rocks. Anyone following would conclude they’d searched in the wrong direction. Dagaar would never guess the trio had passed that way.

Shua pushed back against the wall and lowered herself onto the dirt looking as

exhausted as Atarah felt. “We can rest here.” No light shone through the impenetrable wall of fallen rock directly in front of them. The women huddled in a pocket of space just long and high enough to allow them to move around.

“Is this the temporary hiding place you mentioned?” Gadreel had fallen asleep again

and Atarah supported his bottom with both hands while resting her cheek on the top of his head.

“Yes. The way out is just beyond the wall.” Shua reached for a skin of water and a wedge of fabric-wrapped cheese stowed in a crack between two rocks. “We’ll eat this and save the food in my satchel for later since it’s easy to carry.”

Atarah took the skin and poured some of the liquid on the hem of her sleeve to give

the baby something to suck on when he awakened.  “We should move out before Dagaar has time to get here.”

Before the words were out of her mouth, a commotion sounded from the other side of the wall and panic raised the hairs on Atarah’s arm. Dagaar was already here.

 Shua started to her feet, but Atarah placed a restraining hand on her arm and spoke

with a calm assurance she did not feel. “He may not know we’re in here.”

            Just then the baby screwed up his face, ready to launch into a tantrum. But before he could utter a sound Atarah wrapped the water-soaked part of her sleeve around her finger and stuck it in his mouth, rubbing his gums. She was amazed she had come up with a way to calm the baby.

“That’s only a temporary solution.” Shua’s fear showed as irritation. “Gadreel’s going

to throw a fit eventually and you know it.”

“Not if we stay here and I keep him quiet. We have enough food and water to outwait Dagaar. After a while he’ll assume we’ve left the city another way.” Atarah wondered who she was trying to convince. “Once he’s gone we can get out of here.” And go where?

“But if we stay too long, another quake could kill us.”

“I don’t want to think about that.” Atarah nuzzled the baby, exhausted after the unaccustomed exertion.

“You can’t go to sleep.” Shua sounded desperate. “If I try to silence the baby when he’s this tired he’ll scream louder.”

“I know. I won’t go to sleep.” Atarah didn’t want to admit, even to herself, that simply staying awake would take a miracle since the drug hadn’t completely worn off. She sighed and closed her eyes. She was so afraid. She needed the Dream.