AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“James might’ve been in the school.”
“Maybe. But we couldn’t possibly tell which little boy he was.” Realizing that they’d instinctively gravitated toward an empty corner, he brought them back to the edge of the group. It wouldn’t help them blend in if Ethan or any of his followers spotted them off alone, conferring as if they were doing exactly what they were doing. “We should introduce ourselves, start working the crowd,” he said, nodding when he spotted the young architect he’d seen with Ethan earlier.
She opened her mouth, then fell silent.
“What is it?”
“Over there,” she said with a subtle flick of her head.
Nate tried to be discreet as he cast a glance in the direction she’d indicated. “What is it?”
“That woman with the scars. The one in the turquoise.” Then he saw her—and remembered that Martha had talked about a woman who’d been burned in a fire. What had Martha called her? Sarah. Martha believed Sarah had saved her life.
“It’s got to be her,” he whispered.
“You think so?”
“She’s off by herself. She’s the right size. And her face is heavily scarred. Burn victims aren’t all that common.”
“Not ones with such extensive skin grafts, anyway. Let’s go talk to her.” She began pulling him along, but he freed himself from her grasp.
“You make the contact. She might be less intimidated by a woman. I’m going to mingle.”
“You mean, search for Todd?”
“I’d like to at least meet him while I’m here.”
She hesitated, and he was tempted to promise he’d keep an eye on her, but he knew that would be the quickest way to offend her. “Is there something else?”
Glancing between Sarah, who was hugging one wall, and Ethan, who’d taken his seat on a raised dais, she frowned and leaned close. “One of these people must’ve come into the trailer last night and taken your computer.”
She was right, of course. The Covenanters were suspicious, had doubts. But that was to be expected, wasn’t it? He and Rachel were new and untried, and the Covenanters had reason to be defensive.
“If they have it, they haven’t accessed my files yet or we wouldn’t be welcome here,” he pointed out.
“I agree. But the question is—what happens if and when they break the code?”
That depended on how much of a threat the Covenanters perceived them to be.
17
Rachel felt Bartholomew’s eyes on her before she’d even reached Sarah. At first, she was afraid he’d intercept her, but he didn’t. He watched from where he stood, like a sentry at the door.
Grateful for the crowd, which obstructed his view at least some of the time, Rachel got herself a drink and sidled over to Martha’s friend. She tried to make it look like she was just searching for a place from which to see the festivities and hoped Bartholomew would believe she had no ulterior motive for choosing this particular spot.
After about five minutes of watching the dancers, she offered Sarah a smile. “Hello.”
Sarah squirmed in shy discomfort, but responded with a softly spoken, “Hi.”
“I’m new here.”
Ducking her head as if to hide her scars, she muttered, “Yes, I know.”
“How long have you been part of the group?”
“Three years.”
“How did you first become interested in the Church of the Covenant?”
She smoothed her robe. “I joined when Ethan and four of the Brethren came through my village.”
“Village?” Rachel had hardly ever heard an American refer to his or her hometown as a village.
“It’s sort of a bedroom community outside Albany, New York,” she said. “There are only six hundred residents.”
“That’s pretty small.”
When she didn’t respond, Rachel had to come up with another way to keep her engaged. “So the Holy One came to visit and you…what? How did you become familiar with him?”
“I heard he was holding an Introduction near the Appalachian Trail, so I attended to see what all the uproar was about.”
“Uproar?”
“My father’s an atheist. He thinks people who believe in God are weak-minded fools, that the stories in the Bible are merely that—stories, which have been handed down for centuries.”
“I’ve heard his take on the Bible before.” She gave Sarah a conspirator’s smile. “I guess Noah’s Ark and Jonah and the whale are particularly difficult to accept from a realistic standpoint.”
“I guess, but…I believe anything is possible—with God.”
Didn’t Rachel believe that, too? Sometimes. She wasn’t an atheist, despite what she’d been through. “So you went to hear Ethan even though you knew your father wouldn’t be happy about it?” She definitely could relate to that.
“I wanted to make up my own mind about Ethan.”
“You must’ve been impressed with his doctrine.”
“He’s a powerful speaker.”
And joining his group offered her an escape from her father. How much did that enter into it? “I’d have to agree. I attended the meeting the other night and was quite impressed.”
Sarah’s earnestness suddenly overcame her shyness. “You could feel the Holy Spirit so strongly at that meeting, couldn’t you?”
“You were there?”
“I go to all the Introduction Meetings. I love spreading the word of God, I love bringing those who suffer in darkness into the light. I want to tell everyone about the peace I’ve found in Christ.” She looked away, obviously embarrassed to have grown so passionate.
“I can see why you might like that,” Rachel said. “But…what about all the rumors? They don’t bother you?”
She shifted, instantly uncomfortable again. “What rumors?”
“You know, the ones in Portal and probably other places, as well, about some woman getting stoned out here. And I’m not talking about getting stoned by smoking pot,” she added. “I’m talking about the biblical kind.”
When she received no response, Rachel decided to press a little harder. “Those rumors aren’t true, are they?”
The joy had fled Sarah’s face. Now she seemed downright miserable. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She knew. She just didn’t want to discuss it. But Rachel wasn’t willing to let her off the hook. “From what I’ve heard, there was a woman who used to live here named Martha Wilson. She’s been telling the press that your prophet ordered her killed and that everyone circled around her and began throwing rocks.”
