Seventh Dimension - The King - Book 2, A Young Adult Fantasy (20 page)

Someday she
would make Judd a fine wife. I hoped she understood that honor was
more important than love. I’d tear up the contract and throw it in
the fire if I could.

I shut the door
behind us. “Give me a moment outside with Scylla and Shale. It’s
unfair to Shale. I have as much to do with this as she does. I’ll
say goodbye before I leave. Do you understand?”

Nathan
nodded.

Once outside,
steam from Scylla’s fiery temper covered the portico—nothing like
the wrath of an angry woman. Still I pitied Scylla because she was
so disturbed, treating Shale as her own whipping bag.

“Lock her up in her private quarters,” Scylla
demanded.

Judd didn’t move.

“Now,” Scylla insisted.

I heard a door slam. Nathan stood behind me.
“Wait.”

Did he change his mind?

Scylla covered her mouth in shock. “You— you can
talk.”

“Yes.”

Nathan looked
as if he’d grown two inches taller. “You’re a greedy, jealous woman
and the worst example of a stepmother who ever lived. You don’t
care about me or Shale.”

Scylla glared. “That’s not true.”

“Be quiet,” Nathan demanded.

Worldly Crow
sat in a nearby tree, squawking.

Nathan continued. “Do you know what it’s like to be
mute?”

I didn’t remember ever seeing Scylla speechless.

Nathan turned
towards me. “You’ve been my friend for the last two years. I love
you, Daniel.”

I whispered back so no one else could hear, “I love
you, too, Nathan.”

“But how can you deny what the king did for me?”

I shook my
head. “I’m not denying what he did. He performs amazing miracles,
is a gifted teacher, and the most impressive rabbi I have ever met,
but to call him the Messiah—what proof is there of
that?”

Nathan shook
his head in my direction, as if discouraged at my response, but
then turned his attention to Judd. “You’re wicked.”

I cringed. Must he be so honest?

“Who made you the man of the house?” crooned
Scylla.

Nathan ignored her question. “I want my father to
come home.”

Scylla stomped
her foot in defiance. “No.”

“Why not?” Nathan asked. “So you can continue to
torture and control the rest of us?”

This was
becoming too personal. Now I worried if Judd would lie for Scylla.
She could put me in jail for life. I needed to teach Nathan some
social etiquette, what not to say, before he dug too many
graves.

“I’ll leave. This is a family matter,” I said.

“No,” Shale pleaded. “If you care anything about
me—”

Desperation covered her face. I didn’t know what to
do.

The sky darkened.

I acquiesced. “Maybe Shale is right.”

“We don’t need you anymore, Daniel,” Scylla
retorted.

Nathan spoke up. “Even though I can talk, I don’t
want Daniel to leave.”

“He’s no longer
needed unless you want to waste your inheritance,” Scylla
fumed.

“Mine or yours?” Nathan asked.

Scylla glared.

Nathan
continued. “You’ve made my father weak, belittled him. You married
him for his money.”

“No, I didn’t,” insisted Scylla. “It was foretold in
the stars.”

Ignoring her
retort, Nathan took a couple steps closer. “You’ve lied repeatedly.
What Judd said to you isn’t what you told Shale.”

“So the truth comes out,” Shale scoffed.

Judd stepped back. I reached over and touched
Nathan’s shoulder.

Scylla turned from Nathan and leaned into Judd. “I
told you to take Shale to her room. Lock her up. I’ll speak to you
later.”

Then she
focused on Nathan. “You might not be mute but you’re still dumb.
You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

What an insult to Nathan. Now I was angry. Did she
really think Nathan was dumb?

Judd shoved
Shale from behind. I wanted to punch him in the stomach. Shale had
earned my respect. No matter what happened, she would survive. I
had to figure out a way to get us both back to the twenty-first
century before she married Judd.

The door slammed behind them and Nathan and I were
alone with Scylla.

“We wanted to help Nathan,” I said. “Now that he’s
healed, he can live a normal life. Like the rest of us. Maybe he’s
too blunt, but with time, he’ll learn more self-control.”

“I want to see my father,” Nathan said. “Can you
take me to him?”

Scylla shook
her head. “That rabbi has stirred things up so much I don’t know
that it’s safe to travel.” Scylla sighed. “We don’t need Daniel
anymore to help you.”

Her eyes turned to me and I felt uncomfortable.

I chose my words carefully. “You know, I could take
Nathan to his father.”

Nathan jumped at the opportunity. “Could you?”

Scylla hesitated.

How could
Scylla justify keeping him here? I wasn’t going to meet Scylla’s
romantic needs, and who knew when Brutus would return. As long as
Mari was here—I wasn’t willing to leave without Mari
staying.

Scylla nodded. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She went
into the house.

Nathan smiled.

Maybe God did
care. Where would I find Brutus?

“Get packed
before Scylla changes her mind,” I urged Nathan. “One change of
clothes is enough.”

Nathan bolted towards the door and quipped, “I never
thought I’d be able to speak. The king must be a man of God.”

I nodded.

He disappeared in the house and Mari caught my eye
through the window. I waved for her to come outside.

She hesitated before cracking the door.

“Come here—hurry,” I whispered.

Mari eased the door shut and smiled. “I heard Nathan
speak for the first time.”

She wrapped her arms around me joyfully. “I always
believed the rabbi could heal him.”

Only Jews referred to him as a rabbi. She must have
overheard some Jewish women discussing him in town.

Mari smiled. “I’m so glad for Nathan’s sake—and so
sorry Scylla doesn’t see the blessing.”

“You and me, too.”

Mari thought for a moment. “If you take Nathan to
his father, Scylla may not keep me employed.”

“As long as Shale is here, she needs you.”

“I suppose.”

“You must stay
with Shale until I return. Otherwise, I’m going to worry myself
sick about her.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know,
but I will be back—even if I must watch Shale wed someone
else.”

Mari crossed her arms. “Daniel, she loves you. Her
eyes are for you.”

I remembered
she had briefly seen the contract. “Can you remember what the
contract says?”

Mari leaned
over and whispered. “I searched for the contract while Scylla was
drugged last night and found it. There is one
contingency.”

“Hurry,” I
whispered. I kept my eyes on the door.

“If Shale meets
someone she wants to marry before the betrothal, she can break the
contract. Her mother wanted to make sure she wed.”

“So Scylla must
not have told Shale she had a choice.”

“Scylla never
talks to Shale unless it is to ridicule her. I don’t think Shale
knows.” Mari turned and looked away. “It’s a disgrace for a woman
not to wed.”

Was Mari talking about herself? “You have many
years.”

“I was raised
by Gentiles, but they kept my identity hidden.”

“So you are Jewish?”

Mari nodded.

“Who raised
you?”

“Theophilus.”

“Theophilus?”
No wonder there was this strong connection between Mari and the
wealthy Roman.

“Don’t say
anything to anyone. It’s better,” Mari cautioned.

“All right.”
Why wasn’t Mari telling me everything?

She interrupted my thoughts. “There is something
else.”

“What’s that?”

At that moment, the door opened. Scylla handed me a
scroll. “Brutus’s address—where he lives, with his other wife.”

What? Did I
hear her right?

Scylla went
back inside without saying another word.

“With his other wife,” I repeated.

Mari’s mouth gaped.

“Did you know?”
I asked.

“No.”

What other
family secrets did I not know? “Well, I suppose it won’t make any
difference with Nathan, except to destroy his image of the perfect
father.” No wonder Scylla was so bitter. How many women had he been
involved with?

“Poor woman,” Mari empathized.

“This says Caesarea—I thought he was in
Jerusalem.”

“If you leave soon, you can arrive before
nightfall.”

I looked across
the field. The sun was still high, but I was exhausted—physically
and emotionally. Scylla’s constant flirting made sense now. She had
everything any woman could want—except love.

I leaned
against the post as I debated whether to probe deeper. “How did
Scylla meet Brutus?”

Mari’s
countenance fell. “Oh, that’s very dark.”

I remembered Scylla’s veiled reference to
fortunetelling but was curious if Mari knew more.

The young woman
wistfully glanced around to make sure no one heard. “A friend took
Brutus to Scylla for—advice. She was a mystic. That’s all I feel
comfortable saying.”

I nodded,
noting Mari tended to minimize things she found difficult to
discuss.

She smiled.
“He’s still a good man—don’t you think?”

I grimaced.
Mari would go to great lengths to avoid talking badly about anyone.
“Can you tell Nathan to hurry? I want to leave before Scylla
changes her mind.”

“All
right.”

“And don’t tell Shale about—the other woman.”

“I won’t,” Mari said. “Nathan might when he finds
out.”

“Let it be from him and not us.”

Mari reached
over and tapped my arm. “I have something else to tell
you.”

“What’s that?”

She shook her
head. “No. I changed my mind. Later.” She walked over and clutched
the door.

“Can you tell
Shale she doesn’t have to marry Judd?” I asked quickly.

Mari entered
the house before replying.

Why did she say
that and then refuse to tell me? Why didn’t she respond to my
request? She must not have heard me. Should I follow her inside?
Suppose Scylla overheard us—I knew she wanted Judd to marry Shale.
I still suspected financial gain for Scylla. Why else would she
have revealed the contract to Judd?

Frustrated
about the lack of answers, I wandered back to the cave. I was
surprised to see Judd sitting by the water bin with his hand
submerged in the water.

“What are you doing?”

“I burned my hand.”

“Oh.” I tried to see but he pulled his hand
away.

I shrugged. “You’ll be glad to know Nathan and I are
leaving.”

“Oh.”

“Shale will make you a fine wife.”

“Thank you,” he said smugly.

If only there
were a way to prevent it—would Mari tell her? Or would Mari get in
trouble if she did anything to prevent it?

I sighed.
Again, too many unanswered questions. I patted Baruch on the head,
hugged the rabbit, and said goodbye to Much-Afraid. Shale’s
affection for them had rubbed off on me.

“Take care of the animals.”

“I always do. They haven’t died.”

“And don’t forget about Lowly.”

“Lowly?”

“The pig. That’s what Shale named him.”

“It’s no big deal to me. I’m not Jewish.”

Was that meant to be a jab? I let it go. No reason
to leave on bad terms.

I found Nathan waiting by the gate. “Ready?”

He nodded.

Mari rushed
over and handed Nathan a bag of fruit and fresh bread. “You don’t
want to go hungry.” She turned to me, “Stay safe.”

I thanked her.
We closed the gate behind us. Nathan was excited to leave, but I
felt conflicted. How would I live without Shale? Did she know she
could get out of the contract? Perhaps she wasn’t told because
someone didn’t want her to know. Who would benefit by not telling
her? I still had this deep-seated feeling that Judd and Scylla had
an arrangement, and for some reason, Brutus didn’t want to get
involved. Perhaps Shale’s father was just too preoccupied with his
other life outside of Galilee.

Besides all the
questions, my heart ached. What good was all the money in the world
if I didn’t have Shale with me and couldn’t get back to
2015?

Despite my
bleak outlook, the rolling hills on the way to Caesarea from
Nazareth lifted my spirits. Nathan delighted in the magnificent
vistas, seeing the many shepherd boys guarding the sheep, and
meeting other wayfaring travelers. I hoped he could keep that
childlike quality—enjoying the simple things many
ignored.

We arrived at
Caesarea before sundown. I looked forward to seeing the city in the
daylight. Herod had made the city a vacation spot. On every corner,
magnificent buildings stood that in modern times lay in ruins.
Caesarea was like the Roman capital of Palestine. Many Gentiles
lived here year round.

As we neared the center of town, Nathan asked,
“After you drop me off at my father’s, where are you going?”

I shrugged.
“Maybe I’ll visit Jerusalem. Go back to Dothan and help Doctor
Luke. I don’t know.”