Bryan Davis - Eye of the Oracle

Shem nodded a greeting. “Visiting Father?”

“Yes.” Ham shifted his weight and glanced back at Noah’s tent. “He seemed ill when he retired, so I thought I’d check on him.”

“Just some bad wine,” Japheth said, laughing. “He’ll feel better in the morning.”

Shem glanced around Ham’s side. “What are you hiding back there?”

Ham pulled Noah’s robe around. “I went into the tent, and Father was. . well. . uncovered.”

“So you took his clothes?” Japheth snatched the robe away. “What are you up to?”

“Well, I was just. .” Ham crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s none of your business.”

Shem grabbed Ham by the throat. “You’ve humiliated father for the last time!”

Ham caught Shem’s wrists and wrestled his hands away. “I didn’t go in there to shame him!” he said, pushing Shem back. “He was already uncovered when I went in.”

Japheth shook the robe at him. “Then why did you take this?”

“Naamah was cold.” Ham turned, but Shem took a fistful of his sleeve and spun him back around. Ham scowled at him. “What now?”

Japheth laid a hand on Shem’s wrist. “Let him go. Father will deal with him later.”

Shem jerked his hand back and raised his finger near Ham’s nose. “Father told me that anyone who brings corruption back to this earth will be under God’s curse. If you are the corrupter, Father will have no choice but to pronounce the curse on you and your descendants.”

Ham turned again and stalked away. “Come, Naamah.” Refusing the temptation to look back, he strode through a pasture and crested a low hill next to Noah’s vineyard, his wife hustling to stay at his side. When he was sure they were out of earshot, he stopped and turned to her. “Where is it?”

Naamah clutched a fold at the front of her robe. “Right here.”

Ham peered over Naamah’s shoulder at Shem and Japheth as they approached Noah’s tent. His brothers had draped Noah’s robe over their shoulders, and they were walking backwards into the tent’s opening. Ham shook his head. “The fools! They still believe in that old tyrant.”

Naamah touched his arm. “Don’t worry about them. They don’t know what we really did.”

“They’ll know soon enough. When Father wakes up, they’re sure to tell him that I had his robe, and he’ll figure out that I took Chereb.”

“Then you must leave before the wine wears off.” She pulled the sword from her robe and laid it in his hands. “I’ll follow with Canaan and our belongings later.”

“You heard what Shem said. If Canaan is here, and I’m not, Father might curse him in my place.”

“I will soothe your father’s anger.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Now go.”

Ham folded his robe around the sword. “We will meet at the third hill past the dark forest. Do you remember the glade next to the river?”

“Yes, of course. Look for me there at sunset on the third day.”

Ham nodded and hurried through the vineyard.

With Shem and Japheth standing at the entry, Noah paced back and forth inside his tent, his hands behind his back. Shem pushed open the flap. “She’s here,” he said.

Naamah walked in, carrying her sleeping one-year-old in a blanket, her eyes darting all around. With the bundle almost too big for the petite woman to manage, she briefly dipped one knee and nodded. “What may I do for you, my masters?”

Noah grabbed Naamah’s wrist. “Who are you?”

Her eyes flew open, and her voice trembled. “I am Naamah, your servant.” She clutched her baby closer to her chest. “I am the wife of your son, Ham.”

“No, I mean who are you really?” Noah tightened his grasp. “Where did you come from?”

“My father is Lamech of the line of Cain, and my mother is Zillah.” As she stared at Noah’s fierce grip on her arm, tears welled in her eyes. “Why do you ask me about things you already know?”

Noah jerked his hand away. “Don’t take me for a fool,” he shouted. “I have watched you ever since you boarded the ark with my son, and I know when someone is hiding a secret. Last night, as drunk as I was, I saw you bring him into my tent. You enticed him to take Chereb from me, and I want to know why.”

Naamah lowered herself to her knees, her eyes pleading. “I am a servant, Father Noah. Ham asked me to be his wife, and I accepted. Since he rescued me from death, I serve him with all my heart. So when he commanded me to help him steal the sword, I obeyed, as any obedient wife should.”

“He mocked me!” Noah shouted, shaking his finger. “He was pleased to see me shamed! And you saw it all.”

“I do not pretend to know my husband’s motives, Father Noah, nor do I know why he gazed upon you, but I am a chaste woman, and I assure you that I turned my head. I know what is forbidden to my eyes.”

Noah’s brow slowly relaxed, and he gestured for her to get up. As she rose, Noah looked at his two sons. “Should I believe her?” he asked.

Shem nodded. “You warned me not to be a merciless judge, Father, so I advise compassion. I know what Ham would have done to her had she disobeyed.”

“I agree,” Japheth said. “I have watched how she cares for Canaan. I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for mothers.”

Noah sighed. “As do I. Perhaps too soft.” He extended his hand toward the baby and caressed its cheek. “I still sense a dark secret in your heart, Naamah, but I will forgive your transgression.”

“Oh, thank you!” Naamah rose to the balls of her feet and kissed Noah. She pulled Canaan’s arm out of the blanket and guided his hand across Noah’s beard. “Say thank you to Grandfather!”

Japheth leaned close, his jaw dropping open. He nudged his brother’s ribs. “Shem,” he whispered. “Six fingers!”

Shem shoved his way between his father and Canaan, grabbed the sleeping child’s hand, and spread out his fingers. “Father! Look!”

Noah seemed perplexed for a moment, his lips moving as his eyes numbered the five fingers and thumb. “So that’s your secret!” he yelled, his face flushing scarlet. “You have carried the demon seed into our refuge!”

Naamah backed away, her whole body shaking. “No. I am a woman. I carry no seed but what my father has passed on to me.”

Noah’s eyes flashed, and he pushed his hand through his white hair. “How can this be? Only a demon or a Naphil can pass on such a seed, and Canaan was born eleven months after the flood began, so Ham must be the father.”

Stepping slowly backwards, Naamah gave him a quick bow. “Then by your leave, Father Noah, if you are convinced that my son is of the devil, I will go now and cast both of our bodies into the sea. Far be it from your servants to bring corruption back into our new world.”

“No!” Noah gestured toward his sons. Each of them laid a hand on one of Naamah’s shoulders, stopping her. “The boy must live,” Noah continued. “You have spoken truly about his fate as a servant. He is cursed, and he will be a servant to Shem and Japheth.” He pointed outside. “Naamah, you must leave us. Take whatever you need for travel and sustenance, and may God have mercy on both of you.”

Shem and Japheth released her. Naamah glared at both of them, clutched the baby more tightly to her breast, and backed out through the tent flap.

Shem jerked the flap closed. “She is a deceiver.”

Noah sighed, nodding slowly. “I know. Yet, God will use even her to glorify his name. From the harvest of Canaan’s crop will come a great evil, but the soil for his seed will carry another seed the gardeners do not expect. The crop God raises up will be as tares to the enemy’s wheat, one that sets the entire field ablaze.”