Love’s Sacred Song Read Online Free Page B

squirmed. The first attacker kept his hand over her mouth and carried her under his arm like a sack of grain, trapping her arms at her sides. The second man clamped her legs in the same side-armed grip and held the blanket in place to hide their identity. The elders’ voices were growing faint, and Arielah knew the men were hauling her away from the crowd.
    The first man stumbled over a rock in the street, and the blanket swayed just enough for her to glimpse their surroundings. Old Ruth’s small home was directly beside them, just past the baker’s market stall. Fear rose to terror when she realized these men were carrying her toward the city gate. She couldn’t let them violate her—or worse.
    Lord Jehovah , she prayed silently, if they carry me outside the gate, I have no hope of rescue. Certain Abba would rather forgive her for disgracing him than attend her funeral or mourn her lost honor, Arielah fought like an animal against the men whose plans were unclear but unthinkable. She bit the hand covering her mouth and released the screams he’d held captive.
    “Ouch!” came a muffled voice, just before she felt a blow to her cheek. “Shut up, you little fool,” he whispered, replacing his hand over her mouth.
    The familiar voice robbed her of breath.
    “See how she fights, this little lion of God.” The other man chuckled, low and foreboding. “Abba named her well.”
    Arielah’s body went limp. Kemmuel. Igal. She could never overpower her brothers.
    “What’s the matter, little sister? Why not fight like a man if you want to attend a man’s meeting?”
    Like a limp rag, Arielah lay motionless in their arms, afraid to move or speak. Her submission seemed to fuel their fury, for Kemmuel suddenly yanked her legs, pulling her from Igal’s grip. Her shoulders and head hit the ground with a thud.
    Kemmuel released her legs and tore away the blanket, staring down at her with hate in his eyes. Arielah tried to scurry to her feet, but he lunged forward. “Oh no you don’t.” His hand clamped onto her wrist like a vise.
    “No! Please!” she said, sobbing. Searing pain shot up her arm.
    “Grab her other wrist,” he ordered Igal. “We’ll drag her outside the gate, where no one can hear her scream.” When Arielah tried to twist away, they tightened their grasps, painfully crushing the delicate tendons and bones in her wrists. They yanked her backward, her arms extended overhead. She left a single, meandering trail in the dark, dusty street of Shunem.
    Why? Why do you hate me? She wanted to plead, but she knew they would only laugh and prolong the ridicule. Her brothers had always been cruel, but their cruelty had lately intensified to violence. They were careful to leave wounds and bruises Abba couldn’t see.
    “Oh!” she cried out as a discarded piece of pottery tore into her robe and flesh.
    “Ah, little sister found her tongue, Igal. We’ll have to make sure she doesn’t tell Abba.”
    Jehoshaphat knew of his sons’ failings but didn’t realize the extent of their brutality. Abba had disciplined and taught all three children as a wise abba should, but rather than accept his love, Kemmuel and Igal shunned familial ties and blamed Arielah for every hardship in their lives.
    “Please, brothers,” she whimpered, “I won’t tell Abba. Please let me go. Stop before you do something you’ll regret.” Arielah wriggled in their grasp, trying to position her torn robe between raw flesh and the littered street.
    Kemmuel spit in her face. “My only regret is that you were born. Before you came along, Igal and I held at least a portion of Abba’s heart.” Arielah saw a moment of vulnerability on the moonlit features towering above her—just before an iron gate slammed shut on Kemmuel’s emotions.
    Her heart broke at the pain beneath his hatred. At least now she understood the source of her brothers’ cruelty. But they believed a lie. Abba loved his sons deeply. Could anyone convince them they’d