She nodded shyly.
‘Then come. Stand up.’
Behind him Lydia drew in a quick breath. ‘She can’t. She’s in too much pain.’
Yeshua looked up at her. ‘You must have faith, too. God can heal everything and everyone.’ He turned back to Petra. ‘Stand up, my child. Your pain has gone.’
She held his gaze for a long minute, her eyes full of hope, then slowly she reached down and pushed back the rugs. Carefully she swung her legs off the low couch and rose to her feet. She stood there for several seconds, breathing carefully, not moving. Yeshua stood up too and held out his hands. ‘Come. Walk to me. It won’t hurt.’
There wasn’t a sound in the room. The eyes of the three women were fixed on Petra as she took first one step then another. She reached out her hands towards him uncertainly and then slowly she began to smile. ‘It doesn’t hurt any more!’
He smiled. ‘Good. Come, try a few more steps.’ He backed away from her, slowly encouraging her to move forward.
‘It doesn’t. It doesn’t hurt!’ Her voice rose in delight.
Mora stared at her, then at Yeshua. She could see the child’s hands. The swollen joints had subsided. The pain had left the girl’s face. She looked at Yeshua and he met her eye with a grave smile. ‘You’ve cured her,’ she whispered.
‘God cured her,’ he said.
Lydia was staring at him in awe. Stepping forward she took his hand in both of hers. ‘How can I thank you?’
‘By thanking God, and then by being happy with your daughter. She has suffered too long. She needs to learn how to have fun; to dance, to run like other children.’ He looked across at Sorcha. ‘You mustn’t be afraid.’
Sorcha blushed scarlet. ‘I’ve never seen anything like that before. Mora has been trying for so long.’
‘Mora is a brilliant healer,’ Yeshua said quietly. ‘She is the best and you must use her medicines and her help whenever you need it.’
‘And you’ll show her how to do whatever it was you did just now?’
Yeshua glanced at Mora. ‘I’ll show her.’
Silently Mora walked over to Petra and took her hands in her own. The heat had gone. The hands, the wrists were cool to her touch. She looked up at Petra’s face and smiled. ‘You won’t need me again. I’m so pleased.’ She looked at Yeshua. ‘Another miracle?’ She too was suddenly in awe of him. ‘This is your god?’
He nodded. ‘My father.’
There was a long silence. They were all looking at him. Suddenly he shook his head. ‘Come! Petra needs something to eat. We all do, then Mora and I must return to the island. We have things to talk about before I leave.’
‘You’re leaving?’ Lydia looked distraught.
He nodded. ‘I fear so. I have to return to my own country, but I shall pray for you all. I shall ask God to keep you safe.’ He turned to the doorway. ‘Romanus? You have kept watch well. Come in and eat with us.’
Romanus had seen what had happened from the doorway. He looked at Yeshua with something like hero worship in his eyes, but he was frightened. He shook his head. ‘I must stay here and watch.’
‘Because you know your uncle is coming back?’ Yeshua said gently.
Romanus blushed scarlet. ‘I’m afraid he might.’
‘So he hasn’t gone on a long journey today?’
Romanus shook his head.
‘And you were prepared to allow us to walk into a trap?’
‘Romanus?’ Lydia’s voice was sharp. ‘Tell me that’s not true!’
Romanus shrugged miserably. ‘Uncle Flavius wanted Petra to get better so he went out. He knew Yeshua wouldn’t come if it wasn’t safe.’
‘He knew Yeshua was coming here?’
Romanus glanced from one to the other of them nervously. He was beginning to look like a trapped animal. ‘He guessed.’
‘He didn’t guess. He had sent you to fetch him!’
Romanus nodded uncomfortably. Lydia looked at Yeshua, her face white. ‘My son has betrayed you!’
Yeshua shook his head. ‘It’s not his fault. Don’t blame him. Your brother-in-law is a clever and forceful man. He will have used arguments a boy of Romanus’s age could not have countered. Blackmail. Bribery. Threats.’ He glanced at Romanus and smiled. ‘The important thing is that you have told us now. Mora and I can leave quickly and get home – ’
‘No!’ Romanus shook his head. ‘You don’t understand. He’s lying in wait for you. He promised me he wouldn’t hurt Mora but he means to kill you. He needed to get you off the island. He didn’t want any witnesses to what he was going to do – ’ He broke off in horror, looking at Mora.
‘So, finally you see the truth,’ Sorcha put in. ‘You stupid boy! You think he would let Mora live?’
Romanus was speechless. Suddenly there were tears in his eyes.
‘We’ll give you an escort back to the lake,’ Lydia said suddenly. ‘The men on the farm can go with you. And we can go too. If there are enough of us he can’t do anything. Once you are there you are safe.’
‘Until he tries to leave,’ Sorcha put in.
Yeshua shook his head. ‘My father will protect us.’ He went over to Romanus and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. ‘You did right to tell us. We’ll go now. There is still time to get to the lake before your uncle returns. God bless you. Look after your sister and your mother.’ He ducked out into the sunshine. Mora followed him. The others stayed where they were in silence.
‘Are you sure he won’t come back ’til later?’ Mora whispered as they headed towards the gate.
Yeshua grinned at her. ‘Not entirely. But I don’t want to put them all in danger. The man is a vengeful bully by nature. He won’t hesitate to hurt people who get in his way. That little family have suffered enough. We have been forewarned. That gives us an advantage, and God is with us.’ He caught her hand. ‘This way. We won’t use the track. We’ll cut down through the wood. Listen to your friends the birds. They will warn us if there is someone about.’
The path down through the wood was steep. The carpet of dead leaves rustled beneath their feet as they made their way cautiously back towards the place where they had left the boat. ‘Romanus isn’t coming,’ Mora whispered. ‘We’ll have to paddle the boat ourselves.’
He grinned at her. ‘So, you think that’s a problem?’
She shook her head. ‘What you did for Petra,’ she said after a few more paces, ‘that was a miracle. I have tried so hard for so long to make her better.’
‘That was God’s power working through me,’ he said slowly. He paused and they stopped, looking at each other. He looked troubled. ‘This was another sign that my work in this country is done, Mora. I have prayed so often about this. I am needed in my own country. It is there my teaching is to be done. Others will come after me, to spread the word across the whole world.’ He shook his head. ‘I feel the weight of it all on my shoulders. Sometimes I think I see what is to come, then the future is once more shrouded in mist and I know I am not supposed to know yet. I’m not strong enough yet. I haven’t studied enough yet.’
She moved closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders, resting her head against his chest. ‘I have seen your future in the sacred spring.’
He frowned. ‘Tell me?’
She clung to him. ‘I can’t.’
‘Mora?’
It was a moment before she looked up to meet his gaze. She shook her head.
He nodded slowly. ‘I think I know.’
‘You will one day be the most famous man of all time,’ she whispered.
He smiled. ‘At least I escape the clutches of Flavius.’
She swallowed. ‘For now.’
‘And you. Did you see the future for yourself?’
She pushed him away. ‘Come on, we have to get down to the boat. There is no point in waiting for the light to
