Ethan Kizer and the Cipher Stone (Book 1) (Ethan Kizer's Adventures) by David Renick

Author:David Renick [Renick, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

587 BC – Jerusalem

During the Babylonian siege

Jeremiah and Zephna arrived an hour after dawn. They had had their meal for the day and were ready to go to work. As they approached Ahaz’s house, they could hear that he had already started working. The sound of a hammer hitting a chisel broke the calm morning air. His wife, Mushna, was in the door watching the street.

“Come in quickly!” She motioned with her hand.

Once inside Ahaz, stopped for a moment to explain.

“Obviously we need to keep this project secret, so I started on the noisy work while everyone is in the ration line.” He continued in a rushed tempo, “Zephna— good, you brought your tools. We are going to need to add braces to shore up the beams in my ceiling.”

Pausing only to catch his breath and to put his hand on the beam over the well he said, “We will hang a pulley from here, so it needs to be able to support a lot of weight.”

Jeremiah and Zephna jumped to work, sensing that Ahaz had thought this through. Explanations would have to wait for the moment.

Ahaz returned to splitting large stone slabs into small manageable blocks. They worked without conversation, only the occasional request for help or instruction. Ahaz’s wife sat outside on a wooden stool, repairing some of her clothes.

At first, the streets were deserted. After thirty minutes, people started trickling back into the streets. Each grasped their small precious daily ration in their hands. Most paid no attention to the hammering coming from the house. Some looked but showed no real interest. Another thirty minutes passed. A higher volume of people with an increasing amount of interest in the noise caused her to get up and walk inside.

Without a word, Ahaz knew what her body language communicated. Putting his hand on Zephna’s shoulder, he gestured that it was time to stop. The three had worked up quite a sweat. Their mouths were as dry as cotton. They slumped down to the ground catching their breath as Mushna offered them a cup of water.

Looking around, Ahaz was pleased with how much they were able to get done. Support shafts were in place. A small cutout in the beam from which to hang the pulley was chiseled in. A stack of stone blocks that roughly equaled the weight of a man were stacked near the well.

The sun streamed in through the east-facing window. Dust from their labor filled the air giving the light something to scatter off of. The sunbeam seems solid enough to touch. As the water hydrated their dry throats, a sense of purpose settled on them like a warm blanket on a cold night. It was good to be taking action.

Empowered — liberated in the midst of a city in house arrest — on death row — a welcomed contradiction.

After a few moments of rest, Ahaz pointing at the rope and pulley in the corner interrupted the men’s thoughts. “So what do you think about

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