Free Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) by Cyndi Friberg Page A

Monsieur Le Puy.” He held up his hand when she started to object. “You may go.”
    Brother Gabriel nodded and motioned Naomi toward the door. Brother Aaron pulled the ledger back in front of him and carefully opened it across the table. Brother Seth closed the door after they stepped out into the corridor.
    Anger joined the anxiety knotting Naomi’s stomach as they headed for the stairwell. She understood a woman’s role in the world. The world had been designed by men for men. In the quiet sanctuary of her scriptorium, she sometimes forgot that she too must follow these rules. She worked on her drawings and the world passed her by.
    Well, her sanctuary was well and truly breached and she wasn’t sure where to turn for solace.
    Naomi preceded Brother Gabriel down the steps.
    “Naomi,” he halted her just before they reached the bottom. “Why are you afraid of me? I have never seen this sort of fear in your eyes before.”
    She turned around. He stood two steps up from her so she tilted her head to see his face. “I have never seen lightning bolts shooting from your eyes before.”
    He smiled, his expression uncertain. “Surely not lightning bolts,” he teased. “Sunbeams perhaps or Heaven’s light.”
    “Heaven’s light? Then what does that make you? A god? An angel? A ghost? What happened last night? How were you able to do those things?”
    “I will never hurt you. You must believe that. I could not, even if that were my want. It is impossible for me to cause you harm.”
    He hadn’t answered her questions, Naomi realized, and her eyes narrowed. “Who are you?” she asked directly.
    “I am Gabriel and I love you more than life itself.”
    A tingle ran down her spine and Naomi felt tears burn her eyes. How she wanted to believe it, but he still danced around the issue. “ What are you?”
    Gabriel hung his head, his posture defeated.
    Why did she feel guilty? He was the one harboring secrets. “I should be thrilled by Brother Aaron’s news. I never dared to dream that something like this might happen. I accepted that my mother was dead and whatever family I might have was lost to me. But all I can think of is escape. I want to run away from you . My father, my dearest friend. How can I trust you? How do I know—”
    “You can trust me with your life.” Conviction rang in his tone. “No harm will come to you while you are in my care.”
    “How can I believe that when you will not even tell me what you are?” He reached out to her and she twisted away. “Do not touch me. My entire life I believed in a person who does not exist. I will mourn for my friend and mentor. I do not know what to make of you.”
    Ignoring his pain-filled call, she rushed out into the bailey and headed in the opposite direction from Brother Gabriel.
    When had the world gone mad?
    She didn’t want to meet this Frenchman and yet she wanted nothing more. She wanted to scream and she wanted to weep, but she no longer had a shoulder to cry upon. Ignoring the twinges of pain in her ankle, she hobbled back toward the dormitory.
    Many lonely nights she had tossed in her bed wondering about her parents. How had her mother come to be in Jerusalem alone, lost or deserted, at the mercy of strangers? Did her father know she existed? Was he still alive somewhere, wondering what had become of her?
    The questions were unending once they began so Naomi forced them all aside. She longed to confide in Zarrah, but she was not yet sure what she would say. Would she simply explain that a man was making inquiries into her past or dare she share what she had seen the night before?
    If Brother Gabriel wouldn’t tell her what she had witnessed, how would Gideon respond? Was she brave enough to search him out and demand a clear, concise explanation?
    Tingling heat chased shivers down her spine. Gideon did nothing without a reason. If he gave her the answers she desired, what would he demand in return?
    * * * * *
     
    Church bells rang announcing