The Betrayal by Kathleen O’Neal Gear Read Free Book Online Page A

explaining his failure.
    In the rear, young Mattias said, “He will tell them he fell asleep.”
    A tremor shook Yosef. The past few days had been terrifying. The whispers and secrecy had drained his strength. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I hope not. No one will believe him. They’ll kill him for it.”
    â€œNo, they won’t,” Mattias responded. “The two who stood guard with him will support his story. Our bribes were enough to buy them each a kingdom of their own.”
    Titus cast an unkind glance at the youth, and said, “I thought the Dawn Bathers had forsaken worldly wealth. Where would you get such a ransom?”
    The Dawn Bathers, so called because of their custom of taking a ritual bath each morning, were also known as the Essenes. The name of the sect came from a lost sacred artifact, the oracle, or essen, a breastplate worn by ancient high priests. Twelve stones, each inscribed with the name of a tribe, in four rows, gleamed on the essen, and the Lord God had always signaled
victory in battle by sending his power flowing into the stones and causing them to shine brilliantly enough to light the soldiers’ way. According to lore, the essen had ceased to shine two centuries ago. After God had abandoned the sacred artifact, it had disappeared, or perhaps been cast aside in the desert by frustrated men. 18 Yosef had heard rumors that the Dawn Bathers kept it hidden deep in a cave near Qumran, where it was guarded by giant fanged beasts with wings.
    Mattias said, “We have ways of acquiring necessary funds.”
    Titus waved a disparaging hand. “Forgive my impudence, Master, but I don’t know why you listen to these people. They are sinners of the worst sort. I wouldn’t let them tie my sandals, let alone—”
    â€œSilence!” The surly tone of Titus’ voice had obviously rankled Mattias. “Do not forget that I was there when Yeshua first began studying with Yohanan Baptistes at Qumran. I was there at his arrest! I was his last chosen apostle! My brothers will meet Maryam at the tomb in the morning, give her the sacred artifact, and tell her we have executed her plan. My community has taken great risks, and thereby earned certain rights—the least of which is your courtesy.”
    Titus’ stiff neck eased and he looked away.
    Taking it for contrition, Mattias continued in a milder voice. “There are many people who share our beliefs, but who are not members of our community. A few are wealthy—though I fear we may have asked too much this time. I think some of them emptied their homes to fill this last request. If any of their servants speak of it, word may get around … and then we will all be lost.”
    Titus glanced at Yosef as though waiting for a response.
    Yosef finally said, “You, too, have earned certain rights, Titus. Especially the right to be impudent. Go ahead and say what you wished to.”
    Titus had been Yosef’s faithful servant for more than ten years. It had been Titus and Maryam who had performed the most difficult tasks. They had accepted the ceremonial uncleanness associated with touching the dead, and done it without complaint, so that Yosef might cleanse himself of the impurity before the holy days and thereby salvage his political and religious careers. Little did they know that Yosef had already surrendered both. This night he would flee Palestine forever, before the Romans could accuse him of the role he’d played.

    Everything that he had ever wanted or loved was here. For days and nights his head had been drumming with the agony of loss, ready to split. Now all he felt was a gut-wrenching loneliness.
    Titus shoved brown curls away from his eyes and said, “The man was a criminal, Master. You should not have allowed the Dawn Bathers to talk you into this insanity. The body should have been released to his relatives, as is customary.”
    â€œHis