32 Redirect

  When Dov got back to his cart not an hour after leaving Sara, he was not surprised to find it right where he left it. For most people, it would have been a foolish thing to leave the cart where he did with the soldiers, thieves, and other dangers. Dov knew where the bandits were, of course, and knowing where soldiers were was always important, and they were far to the south. Dov knew things few suspected he did, and his connections went to places no one could have guessed. Dov was not what he appeared to be.

  Dov grabbed the shafts on the front of the cart and paused. He knew in his gut that he had to turn around and head south. He shook his head. He didn't know why, but he learned long ago to trust this feeling. It had saved him too many times.

  Dov wondered why he might need to do this as he turned the cart around and began to pull. The soldiers of the tyrant who called himself lord could be annoying for his plans, but unless things changed, they were off to the south, returning to their lord with whatever they had stolen from the village. So, he doubted they were the reason he needed to turn around, and the bandits were not near either. Yet, something was going to happen, and he needed to go back in the direction he had come from. So, he walked back toward the village.

  Thinking back, he remembered a teenage boy and a couple of other kids heading out of the village ahead of him. He should have passed them, considering how fast he walked. He did not know which way they had taken, but he assumed the old road towards the lake. He had seen these kids many times, and if their mom was sending them away, it had to mean she thought something bad was coming. Dov shook his head, knowing they were the reason he felt the need to turn around. He just was not sure why seeing them leave would make him feel the need to turn around. He pushed it from his mind, knowing it did not matter.

  When he had reached the village, he could tell the dragon had already been there. Dov thought that perhaps one of the families expected trouble from the lord since a dragon had been at the village, but the timing did not work as the children left before the dragon.

  The people of the village were whispering to each other, but no one was asking him anything. Even for a town that normally kept to itself, this was strange. From the timing of dropping the girl off, he had suspected the dragon would visit while he was getting his cart, and he was correct. He had thought that with the dragon gone, the girl and the village would be safe. Now he wondered if dropping the girl off was going to be good for any of them. He truly hoped to be proved wrong by the time he reached the other side of the village, and he would find another reason why he needed to turn around.

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  When he made it to the other side and saw nothing else out of the ordinary in the village, it did not help him. Something felt wrong there. Dov had business to the north, but if he put the village in danger, he had to try and fix it. Taking on the lord was not an option, but the bandits hiding not a mile from the lord could serve as a distraction, not to mention the other crazy idea that had popped into his mind. Once he was a couple of hours south of the town, he heard it. A horse was traveling from the town and coming up behind him. Dov pulled his cart to the side and waited. This had to be the lord’s informant. Then Dov saw Abba-Nabal riding his father-in-law’s plow horse.

  Dov stopped and said, “Here is as good as anywhere to wait.”

  That was yesterday; now he was waiting to see if what he feared might come to pass. He expected soldiers from the lord to come back through any time now.

  There was a chance that they would call Abba-Nabal a liar and continue going to the manor house. He was hoping, but he was wrong. Dov doubted that, as he was sure that everyone in the region had seen the dragon flying around.

  “Just because the soldiers have not come by yet does not mean I will not see them soon. It is still early,” Dov told himself, so he would wait.

  “Why would Abba-Avi tell anyone about Sari?” Dov asked himself, then he shook his head. He knew. The dragon’s visit changed everything.

  Dov laughed. He knew that Abba-Avi would believe him when he told him that a dragon kidnapped Sara, even if few would believe the story. Others would have taken one look at Dov and called him a liar. Abba-Avi had always been a good man. He would take care of Sara, but Dov was not sure what Abba-Avi might have told those in the village. Dov knew that Abba-Avi would have told them something that would give them hope and make them want to help Sara.

  Hope was hard to find in this barony; life had become just too hard. Dov did not know everything, but he knew some of the ways Abba-Avi had suffered. It would have broken most men. Dov knew it had not broken Abba-Avi. Leaving Sara there was the best choice. He could not take her with him; that was just not an option, not considering who he worked for.

  Maybe they will not come, Dov hoped as time passed, but then he heard it, and his heart sank. The sound of horses coming down the path. Now he knew it might have been better if Sara had stayed enslaved to the dragon. Being enslaved to the lord of this area would be horrible, especially for a woman. He could not allow that to happen to Sara, especially knowing what he did.

  He sighed as he saw them, “Nabal, you really did it, you fool.”

  Dov pulled his cart further off the side of the road, giving the soldiers plenty of room as they came barreling down the road. Dov lowered his head and tried to act afraid. He was anything but afraid. He was furious, which almost caused him to lose control.

  “Keep it steady, now is not the time,” Dov whispered to himself as the last of the soldiers and Abba-Nabal rode by.

  Once they were out of sight, Dov reached into the cart, moved some items, and opened a hidden compartment. He grabbed what he needed, threw them in a bag, and smiled, but not in pleasure.

  Looking down the road, the soldiers had gone, and seeing no one looking back, he said, “It is time to get some help.” Then he ran in the other direction.

  “This is either the bravest thing I have ever done or the dumbest. I just hope it is not the last.” Dov told himself as his running took on a speed few could have matched, belying his middle-aged appearance. Dov was absolutely not what he appeared.