We were gone longer than I meant to be, arriving late in the afternoon. Daniel wanted to leave, but I coaxed him to put Baruch in the cave and Nathan in the house. Nathan was determined to continue as a mute young man in the Snyder household.
We were crossing the veranda in the portico when Scylla spotted us. She stood as a statue with hands anchored on both hips. Her malignant eyes rested on me. Even though we were still a good distance away, none of us could escape her toxic wrath.
“This isn’t going to be good,” Nathan said.
Judd stood under a palm tree. His mouth gaped when Nathan spoke, but I was too startled to think about him. As Scarlet said in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow.
When we were within earshot, Scylla started in on me.
“Shale, where have you been? You didn’t even tell Mari where you were. I’ve been worried sick about Nathan.”
Daniel took Nathan inside the house. I felt exposed and defenseless. Why did Daniel depart so abruptly?
“We took Nathan to the healer.”
Scylla frowned. “What healer.”
“The king. Some call him master.”
Scylla glared. “It’s because of him that your father is stuck in Jerusalem. That ‘miracle worker’ has usurped the Roman government, and the religious establishment hates him.” Scylla scoffed. “He’s a Jew, and yet the council despises him. What does that tell you? Another John the Baptist—I hear he was beheaded.”
She rolled her eyes. “How can you be so gullible, Shale? So-called healers are a dime a dozen here. They stand on street corners and steal your money. A bunch of charlatans, they are. If Doctor Luke couldn’t heal Nathan, no one can. For Nathan’s sake, I’ll go easy on Daniel.”
“You lied to me,” I said.
Scylla shook her finger at me. “Don’t ever accuse me of lying.”
“What you told me was a lie.”
“I didn’t lie to you.”
Footsteps approached from behind, but I kept my eyes on Scylla. “What did Judd tell you about Daniel and me?”
She glared, furious she couldn’t control me.
The porch door opened and Daniel emerged. He stood tentatively studying the developing situation.
“Go ahead. While you’re at it, tell us what you told Daniel.”
Scylla thrust her pointed nose into the air. “How dare you to speak to me that way.” “No matter. You are what you are.”
She turned to Judd. “Lock her up in her private quarters so she can’t go on any more escapades.”
Judd hesitated.
“Do it now!” she ordered.
Scylla reminded me of a vulture with bulging eyes—her long spindly neck and pointed nose could only be a weak man’s trophy. I hated that she was my father’s prize.
“I want my money,” Judd whispered.
“Wait,” Nathan shouted. A voice never heard on my father’s estate filled the portico. He edged his way around Daniel and proceeded to walk towards Scylla.
She gasped and covered her heart. “You—you can talk!”
“I’ve heard it all,” Nathan said. “Scylla, you’re a deceptive, conniving, vindictive woman. You don’t care about Shale or me.”
Her eyes boiled with anger. “That’s not true.”
“Be quiet,” Nathan demanded.
No one said a word or moved, too shocked at hearing Nathan’s voice.
“Do you know what it’s like to be mute and unable to utter a single word? You spoke constant lies, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”
Scylla glared at Nathan.
Nathan turned to Daniel. “You’ve been my friend for the last three and a half years—a good friend. I love you Daniel.”
Daniel lowered his eyes, embarrassed by the straightforwardness of Nathan’s expression of gratitude.
“But how can you deny what the king did for me?”
Daniel stared at the ground, appearing emotional and conflicted. “I’m not denying it,” corrected Daniel. “I’m just slow to believe.”
Nathan turned to Judd. “You’re wicked.”
“Who made you the man of the house?” crooned Scylla.
Nathan ignored her question. “I want my father to come home.”
Scylla shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?” I asked. “So you can continue to torture and control the rest of us.”
“I think I should leave,” Daniel said. “This is a family matter.”
“No, come back,” I pleaded. “If you care anything about me.”
Daniel stopped. His eyes appeared torn between pity and anger.
Dark clouds formed over us, casting shadows around the portico. The wind picked up as if a storm were approaching.
“Shale is right,” Daniel said. “I shouldn’t leave until everything is resolved. Maybe that’s why I’m here.”
“We don’t need you anymore, Daniel,” Scylla retorted.
“Even though I can talk, I don’t want Daniel to leave,” Nathan insisted. “He’s done nothing wrong.”
“He’s no longer needed unless you want to waste your inheritance.”
“Mine or yours?” Nathan questioned.
Scylla didn’t respond.
Nathan said, “You’ve made my father weak, a shell of a man. He didn’t used to be that way. You ruined him. He works all the time. Lies, lies, and more lies. You want his money—your god.”
Scylla stood frozen as ice, probably too stunned to speak.
“Not only that,” Nathan continued, “but you’ve lied repeatedly. What Judd said to you isn’t what you told Shale.”
“So the truth comes out,” I scoffed.
Scylla recovered quickly, now simmering near the boiling point. She turned from Nathan and pointed her finger at Judd. “I told you to take Shale to her room. Lock her up. She’s still alive because of me. I’ll speak to you later.”
She turned back to Nathan. “You might not be mute anymore, but you’re still dumb. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Judd pushed me ahead.
“Stop,” I fired back.
He prodded me again. “Then move.”
I looked pleadingly at Daniel. He could stand up to Scylla, but would he? How could she exert so much control over men? Daniel followed me with his eyes as I walked past but remained quiet. I was disappointed he didn’t put a halt to Scylla’s reckless accusations.
We climbed the stairs to my room, and a veil of darkness shrouded me. Fifi’s dead body appeared once again in a vision at the bottom of the stairs. I had hoped the memory wouldn’t torture me anymore. Why hadn’t the king healed me? I grabbed the post to catch my balance. Rain started to fall.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
“I want my money.”
“Give me a second, will you?”
Judd opened the door. I went over to my bed feeling in the blankets for the rocks.
I handed him a golden nugget. “Here.”
Judd grimaced, dropping the rock. The nugget rolled on the floor.
“What’s wrong?” I reached down and picked it up. The nugget sizzled in my hand but felt cool to the touch. Judd clutched his burnt fingers.
“Let me see,” I demanded.
When he opened up his clasped fingers, fiery welts scoured his palm. The rock glowed as I held it, but it didn’t burn me.
Judd cradled his hand. “I don’t want your rock. Could your king heal even this?” He shoved his seared hand towards me. His voice was bitter.
I briefly felt sorry for Judd, but it was easier to hate him. I didn’t want to admit it, but the more I hated him, the worse I felt. A fit of depression closed in on me.
“So that king of yours did heal Nathan.” Judd said it as a statement rather than a question. “Maybe there’s something to him after all.”
“That’s for you to find out.” Would the king do anything for Judd? In my smugness, a voice pricked my soul. “What about the healed man in the cemetery?”
br /> He stormed out clutching his hand and locking the door from the outside. I felt as if I were a wounded bird in a cage. Could I still hear the king’s voice in my pain? The voice wasn’t as loud in my heart, but I still heard it. “Don’t let others steal your joy.”
What joy could I have stuck here behind a locked door? I stared at the ceiling. If I didn’t write in my diary, I would explode.
I got up from my bed and grabbed the reed-pen and paper.
“Dear Dog, if ever you were real, can you show yourself to me now, before I wilt from sadness? I’ve done a good thing, and yet I’m being punished for it. Where is justice? Why can’t the king’s love reach me? I’m feel as if I’m a wounded bird, stuck in a cage where I don’t belong.”
I thought for a moment before writing more.
“I must be sure. Are you and the king the same? He seems like a father to me. Can you heal me? You seem so far away.”
Chapter 30
THE VISITOR