Angels at the Gate Read Online Free PDF Page B

interior. At the far side is the object covered by a black fur they have carried with them. Whatever lies beneath appears to be about as long as my arm. If I had a fur that thick, I would have it on my pallet for the cold nights. Perhaps it had been, but now it covers something—something they do not wish me to see and gossip about?
    Curiosity is another of my faults. It has gotten me in difficulties as much as my lack of obedience. The older man, the one who wears the pointed hat, sits beside the object. He has removed his hat; his hair is sparse and gray, his beard as long as his hair.
    â€œThis is Anan,” Raph says, indicating the old man. “He not speak Akkadian and not receive the lessons. He soon returns north.”
    I bow my head to acknowledge him. He does not return the gesture.
    Raph waves a hand to a spot on a rug. “Be seated.” I sit on the rug,disappointed it is of ordinary weave. These exotic travelers should have more interesting possessions, so by this I know they are not traders.
    Mika lowers a cup at his lips and scowls, obviously disapproving of me or of the plan to instruct them. One of the rumors that swirl about them is they are very learned men. It would be insulting to allow a caravan boy to teach them. I must tread carefully. If Mika throws me out, Nami will stay Chiram’s dog, and any future pups will die in the pot, if she does not end up there herself.
    This is a serious concern. I am not good at treading carefully.
    â€œTea?” Raph offers a cup.
    â€œThank you.” It is rude not to accept.
    â€œSo,” Raph pours a brown liquid from the bowl into his own cup and hands it to me. “How begin?”
    â€œPerhaps,” I say, “if I know your purpose, we can start with the words you will most need.”
    â€œNot concern you,” Mika says.
    I bite my lower lip and bow my head. “No offense or intrusion is intended. I only wish to be useful.”
And earn my goat
.
    â€œA good plan,” Raph says. His grasp of our language is more sophisticated than Mika’s. Perhaps Mika considers himself too holy to bother with a language not his own.
    Raph rubs his chin. “Begin with only words.”
    So I translate their words into my tongue. It is an odd list, including “star, white, daughter, stone, morning, storm, dream,” and several more, but Raph will not proceed until he and Mika can say each with the correct accent. I explain that pronouncing a word differently can change its meaning, and so it is important to get it right.
    Despite his surly attitude, Mika is quicker than Raph and remembers everything almost the first time he hears it. This annoys me, but it gives me an excuse to look at Raph more.
    He is very pleasant to look at.

CHAPTER

7
    He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan.
    â€”Book of Genesis 12:5
    A FTER TWO DAYS OF REST , we resume our journey. Nami trots alongside the donkey that had carried her pups and sniffs the empty bag. Heartbroken, she whine-sings her anxiety and returns to my side. We travel quickly all the morning, and approach the oak trees and the tents of Abram while the sun is still high. The rich scent of roasting lamb fills the air, along with the high-pitched laughter of children, and I identify Ishmael’s voice. My cousin is twelve summers, and a head shorter. I spot him among one of several sheep herds that belong to Abram and his family. Ishmael waves, but he is busy with the sheep and does not run out to meet us.
    Convinced at last that her pups are not with the donkeys, Nami follows me like a shadow inside the largest tent, and I follow Father, already almost his height. Sarai knows I am a girl, but she keeps our secret out of respect for my father’s judgment. Though considered an elder, Father defers to Abram. They grew up together in the