The shepherds’ eyes grew wide as the ramifications of Akbar’s question settled in.

Anticipating their concern, Solomon said, “Tomorrow, I will leave for the village of Kerek. And in ten days’ time I will return with the necessary supplies. Then we will undertake our crossing.”

A silence fell among them.

Simon nudged a stick into the fire. “But Solomon,” he said, “the only way to Kerek from here”—he gazed off, swallowing—“is through The Narrows.”

The men’s eyes darted haphazardly from one face to the next, like flies fleeing the whip of a camel tail. Jesus held his breath, hoping he had not heard right.

Solomon raised a hand. “There is no need for fear,” he said.

Resistance rumbled around the fire, quiet at first, but rolling and gathering like thunder. The men had held down their fears for too long. And the worsening conditions had weakened the last of their resolve. Before anyone could stop it, the thunder gave way to lightning.

“This is unjust!” Mathias blurted. “No man has ever returned from The Narrows. If you disappear, we are doomed!”

“How can you so readily put our lives in jeopardy?” Akbar demanded.

“You should have told us long ago that this was your intention!” Eliah complained.

The questions and doubts tangled into a clamor that silenced the fire and startled the animals. Anna jumped from Jesus’s side and skittered behind the bushes.

“Silence!” Solomon roared. The crackling of the fire returned to prominence. He began again in a calm voice. “If I have not come back after ten days, there are provisions enough for you to attempt a return.”

“Attempt a return?” Akbar cried. “We already know how barren the land from which we have come! And we have barely enough food to make it back to the last spring!”

“Barely enough is still enough,” Solomon countered. “And, you should remember, Jesus led you on a safe journey here. He can lead you back, if he must.”

Jesus felt the men’s eyes boring into him, questioning his mettle. The young shepherd did not like the feeling but kept his composure, hardening his face with confidence so as not to jeopardize Solomon’s authority or bring his wisdom into question. But despite his calm exterior, doubt echoed through the valleys of his heart.

Could he really lead them back?

After the men had gone muttering to their mats, Jesus approached Solomon where he sat smoking and mending a tear in his tunic. “Solomon?” he asked.

The elder shepherd nodded but did not lift his eyes from his work.

Jesus stumbled over what to say next. The questions and fears rose quickly to the surface and clogged his throat.

Solomon let the tunic fall from his hands. He then knocked his pipe against a stone, emptying it of ashes. “You will know what to do when you know what you are facing,” he said, as if reading the young man’s mind.