The Lord had lost His voices in Israel, and the worship of Phoenician gods must now be stronger than before. His first night beside the Cherith, Elijah had thought that God had chosen him to be a martyr, as He had done with so many others.
Instead, the Lord had sent a crow--a portentous bird--which had fed him until the Cherith ran dry. Why a crow and not a dove, or an angel? Could it all be merely the delirium of a man trying to hide his fear, or whose head has been too long exposed to the sun? Elijah was no longer certain of anything: perhaps Evil had found its instrument, and he was that instrument. Why had God sent him to Akbar, instead of returning him to put an end to the princess who had inflicted such evil on his people?
He had felt like a coward but had done as ordered. He had struggled to adapt to that strange, gracious people and their completely different way of life. Just when he thought he was fulfilling his destiny, the widow's son had died.
"Why me?"
HE ROSE, walked a bit farther until he entered the mist covering the mountaintop. He could take advantage of the lack of visibility to flee from his persecutors, but what would it matter? He was weary of fleeing, and he knew that nowhere would he find his place in the world. Even if he succeeded in escaping now, he would bear the curse with him to another city, and other tragedies would come to pass. Wherever he went, he would take with him the shadow of those deaths. He preferred to have his heart ripped from his chest and his head cut off.
He sat down again, amid the fog. He had decided to wait a bit, so that those below would think he had climbed to the top of the mountain; then he would return to Akbar, surrendering to his captors.
"The fire of heaven." Many before had been killed by it, though Elijah doubted that it was sent by the Lord. On moonless nights its glow crossed the firmament, appearing suddenly and disappearing just as abruptly. Perhaps it burned. Perhaps it killed instantly, with no suffering.
AS NIGHT FELL, the fog dissipated. He could see the valley below, the lights of Akbar, and the fires of the Assyrian encampment. He heard the barking of their dogs and the war chants of their soldiers.
"I am ready," he said to himself. "I accepted that I was a prophet, and did everything I did as best I could. But I failed, and now God needs someone else."
At that moment, a light descended upon him.
"The fire of heaven!"
The light, however, remained before him. And a voice said:
"I am an angel of the Lord."
Elijah kneeled and placed his face against the ground.
"I have seen you at other times, and have obeyed the angel of the Lord," replied Elijah, without raising his head. "And yet I have done nothing but sow misfortune wherever I go."
But the angel continued:
"When thou returnest to the city, ask three times for the boy to come back to life. The third time, the Lord will hearken unto thee."
"Why am I to do this?"
"For the grandeur of God."
"Even if it comes to pass, I have doubted myself. I am no longer worthy of my task," answered Elijah.
"Every man hath the right to doubt his task, and to forsake it from time to time; but what he must not do is forget it. Whoever doubteth not himself is unworthy--for in his unquestioning belief in his ability, he commiteth the sin of pride. Blessed are they who go through moments of indecision."
"Moments ago, you saw I was not even sure you were an emissary of God."
"Go, and obey what I have said."
AFTER MUCH TIME HAD PASSED, ELIJAH DESCENDED THE mountain to the place of the altars of sacrifice. The guards were awaiting him, but the multitude had returned to Akbar.
"I am ready for death," he said. "I have asked forgiveness from the gods of the Fifth Mountain, and now they command that, before my soul abandons my body, I go to the house of the widow who took me in, and ask her to take pity on my soul."
The soldiers led him back, to the presence of the high priest, where they repeated what the Israelite had said.
"I shall do as you ask," the high priest told the prisoner. "Since you have sought the forgiveness of the gods, you should also seek it of the widow. So that you do not flee, you will go accompanied by four armed soldiers. But harbor no illusion that you will convince her to ask clemency; when morning comes, we shall execute you in the middle of the square."
The high priest wished to inquire what he had seen atop the mountain, but in the presence of the soldiers the answer might be awkward. He therefore decided to remain silent, but he approved of having Elijah ask for forgiveness in public; no one else could then doubt the power of the gods of the Fifth Mountain.
Elijah and the soldiers went to the poor, narrow street where he had dwelled for several months. The doors and windows of the widow's house were open so that, following custom, her son's soul could depart, to go to live with the gods. The body was in the center of the small room, with the entire neighborhood sitting in vigil.
When they noticed the presence of the Israelite, men and women alike were horrified.