And with Cessa gone, the preacher wondered senselessly toward the bountiful vista. He thought that when the king’s road ended he might journey further into the marauding lands. But as thoughts of an unknown future conjured, he held the pistol and considered burying it under a stone or tossing it into a passing creek. The path was lonely. Only an occasional drifter came coursing along towards the beleaguered south. No words were exchanged between the parties. They both knew fate had them marching towards perdition. But a little deeper into the steppe, Stephanos happened across a traveler beaten and battered behind a small sandstone deposit. He was unconscious. The preacher dabbled water onto his lips and when he came to, he noticed the traveler was stabbed and his leg broken. He rested him against the rock and tended to his bleeding. They rested there for several hours and at sundown, the preacher made a fire and gave him what little substance he could provide. Afterward, he stood watch throughout the night while on the lookout for returning marauders.
He thought about the pistol. He took it from the holster and held it firmly.
By morning, the bleeding had stopped. The traveler awoke and asked for water and the preacher provided. “I’m Stephanos, an emissary of Johnny,” he told the traveler.
The man lowered the canteen from his lips. “I’m Javier Gomez, a representative from the Agency,” he said.
“How did this happen to you?”
Gomez struggled to recall. “I was attacked on my HUV returning to Nisan. I don’t know. They must have taken it.”
“The vehicle?”
“Yes.”
“Were they going south?”
“Yes.”
Stephanos stood up and stared down the path towards the horizon. The sun was climbing towards its zenith and the nearest inn was miles away. He knew he would have to carry Gomez the entire way and that they wouldn’t make it before sundown. “I suspect you were followed,” he told Gomez. “You’re from the agency. Why were you traveling alone?”
“I wasn’t alone.”
“What happened to the others?”
“I don’t know. I was returning from Cessa.”
“Why?”
“Because the Shepherd had called for me.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
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