my true friends.” He bowed again and hurried from the tent.
Jared held the tent flap open for Irene. “We had better go, as well.”
She raised a finger. “We must wait for his signal that all is clear.”
Jared paused, listening so intently he could hear a faint sizzle from the candle’s wick. Another howl pierced the night. He wet his fingers and snuffed the flame. “That is a good enough signal for me.” He and Irene shuffled from the tent and folded it with the blanket.
After tucking the bundle under his arm, Jared inhaled deeply. “It is a new world, Hartanna, if I may call you that one last time. We will now be alone and friendless, perhaps for many years.”
“Before I go into hiding,” Irene said, “I must tell my mother what has happened. She will surely be Devin’s prime target.”
Irene turned to leave, but Jared grabbed her hand. “I have one regret,” he said softly.
She tilted her head. “Regret? What regret?”
He sighed and caressed her fingers with his thumb. “That I was never able to become Hartanna’s mate.”
As Irene gazed into his eyes, her tears glistened in the dim light. “You would have made a magnificent king, Clefspeare.”
He kissed her hand tenderly. “May the Maker grant you safe passage.” He bowed and marched quickly into the forest.
In the gloom of night, Elam sat in front of the hut, watching the undulating glow of firelight as it danced inside the open window. Cautious voices from within drifted to his ears.
“Do not tell me where you are going, Irene. It is better that I do not know.”
“But you are my mother. How will I ever find you again?”
“Have faith. The Maker will see to our reunion . . . someday.”
“At least choose a new name and tell me what it is. Thigocia will not serve you as a proper name in this land.”
Elam scooted closer to the window.
“At first I chose Emzara, because, like Noah’s wife, I am the mother of all who remain of my kind, but I decided it was too uncommon and obvious. Devin would guess it easily. So, I have chosen to answer to the name of Hannah.”
“Hannah is a fine name. It is easy to remember and not conspicuous at all.”
“You should go now, precious daughter. The longer you stay in this country, the more danger you will be in.”
Elam rose to his feet, picked up his knapsack, and tiptoed to the edge of the surrounding forest. Leaning against the wide trunk of a tree, he slid back down to his seat and watched Irene leave the tiny hut. She and Hannah embraced, then, after holding her mother’s hand for a moment, Irene strode into the shadows and disappeared.
Elam pulled the Ovulum from his bag and whispered, “Fiat lux.” A faint glow emanated from the glass. He smiled and spoke softly to it. “Thigocia seems to be safe for now, so I guess I’ll just sleep here until she decides to go somewhere else.”
The orb pulsed but gave no reply.
Giving the smooth surface a gentle rub, Elam continued. “Sometimes I wish you’d talk to me more. I want to do a good job watching over Thigocia, but I feel like I’m just guessing what I’m supposed to do.”
The Ovulum’s glow brightened, and its pulsing frequency increased, but it stayed quiet.
Elam let the Ovulum rock back and forth in his palm. “I believe Sapphira gave you to me for a reason, and I guess I’ll figure it all out as I go, but maybe it would help if I knew how long I’m supposed to keep track of Thigocia.” He drew the Ovulum closer to his face. “Will you tell me when the slayers die?”
The eye slowly congealed inside the glass. Its crimson-coated image pulsed in time with the orb’s glow. “For the sake of your curious mind, Elam, son of Shem, I will reveal what I know.” The eye seemed to retreat, and the entire face of an elderly man appeared. “I am Enoch, the first oracle. When God took me up from the earth, he gave me the task of overseeing a certain portion of his redemption plan. I reside in a spiritual realm, and my window to your world is the humble egg you hold in your hands, a dimensional viewer that is passed from oracle to oracle. Methuselah inherited the oracle title from me, but the flood created the need to pass the Ovulum to Sapphira Adi, a special kind of oracle whose