horse. Why wouldn’t he answer a simple question? Would every creature in this place be so oblique? He cleared his throat. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Dikaios, but I must move on now.” He bowed again and began walking around the pond.
With a swift gallop, Dikaios blocked his way. “You may ride me,” he said in a gruff tone.
Elam halted. “I didn’t ask to ride you.”
“But you want to.” Dikaios lowered his head. “All humans want a ride.”
“Is that so?” Elam chuckled. “If I were tired or in need of a swift transport, I might have asked for a ride. But since I don’t even know where I’m going …” Patting the horse’s neck, Elam passed him by. “I won’t be a burden to you.”
As he strolled, Elam heard the sound of hoof steps behind him, soft and slow. Soon, the bobbing head of a horse appeared at his side. “I am coming with you,” Dikaios said, “because you have piqued my curiosity.”
Elam smiled. “You are certainly welcome to join me, but if you know the way, perhaps you would like to lead.”
“Do not think of Heaven’s altar as a physical destination,” Dikaios said. “Although it exists in a real place in this dimension, it is better to perceive it as a spiritual objective, gained by inner purity. Once your character is proven, you will find it.”
A shadow glided over the grassy carpet, causing Elam to look skyward. A golden brown eagle soared overhead, its wings in full sail, riding the wind with hardly a flutter. “So,” Elam said, sliding a hand into his pocket, “maybe I’ll just keep looking around this place until something happens. It’s hard to have a plan when there’s no road map to follow.”
Dikaios gently nudged Elam with his nose. “You must not be casual about this journey. It is too dangerous.”
“Casual?” Elam halted and crossed his arms. “My good horse, there’s a big difference between casual and confident. I’m aware of the danger, but …” As he searched his mind for the right words, Merlin’s warnings flowed through his lips. “I want to maintain a confident mind-set in full assurance of faith, otherwise my heart might melt within me.”
“Ah! An excellent speech! No doubt you have rehearsed it, but it is a good, wise saying, so there is no harm in reciting it.” Dikaios shook his head hard, scattering his mane into disarray. “But it will take more than words to pass the tests you are about to face. I have yet to see a human make it through the shield of Heaven without special concourse, but you are quite unusual, so I will watch with interest.” The horse’s eyes seemed to grow larger as he drew closer. “Take care that your confidence does not swell into arrogance, for that is the downfall of every man of pride.”
Chapter 10
THE ALTERED TRIBE
Timothy pulled back from the ovulum. “Sapphira’s face is so familiar, it’s like I’m seeing a fleeting image from my past, and other images fly through my mind, too, but nothing’s staying put long enough to set in a time or place.” He folded his hands on the table and leaned forward again. “Maybe if you tell me how I got here, I can start putting together the pieces.”
“All I know,” Abraham said, “is that Candle found you in the birthing garden, where our younglings are tended.”
“Birthing garden?” Timothy laughed and leaned back in his chair. “You’d better treat me like an ignorant alien. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Firsthand experience is the best teacher, even for an alien.” Assuming the village’s prayer posture, Abraham stood up and walked toward the door. “Come with me. I will show you the new Garden of Eden.”
Timothy followed, also pressing his hands together. Heading away from the center of the village, they passed only a few of the citizens, but the ones they met stopped and bowed low as the Prophet walked by. Abraham smiled and nodded at their votive gestures, but he seemed uncomfortable with the attention.
One family, after bowing low, stared at him as if awestruck, a muscular dark-skinned man, his shorter, equally dark wife, and their pale, freckled daughter, who seemed no more than twelve or thirteen.
After they passed, the mother chided the girl. “Don’t ask such questions. The Prophet’s interests lie elsewhere, and you’re too young to be anyone’s Eve.”
Abraham chuckled, but he didn’t look back. When they reached the end of the road, they walked down a gentle slope, through