Free The Errant Flock by Jana Petken Page B

the treasurer had some sinister game in mind.
    He had a duty to warn his family about what might lie ahead. He was already damned, his soul blackened with mortal sin. But had he left the child in the Jewry, the Jews would have been blamed for her parents’ death and the disappearance of her infant brother. Had he taken her to the steps of the church, every citizen in Sagrat would have been implicated … No, he thought with his hand on the house’s front door, bringing her here and telling his family about her was the only decent thing he would do this night.
    He stepped softly into the house. The fire in the hearth still burned with deep red embers in their dying moments, managing to cast warmth and a soft orange glow in the darkened room. He gazed lovingly at Diego and Juanjo sleeping soundly on straw pallets in a corner behind the table. After looking about him, he frowned with confusion, which then turned to anger. The air was thick with the smell of boiled vegetables and herbs. The cooking pans were clean. No remnants of wild boar, cooked meat, or bones of any kind were or probably had been in the house. All that lay on the table were two wrinkled potatoes, a lump of bread, and a piece of crumbling hard cheese, leftovers from the family’s meal.
    The man with the cart, who had gratefully accepted a coin and the promise of meat, had stolen the boar. He and his family had probably filled their bellies with it and had washed it down with wine. David covered his face with his hands and cursed the man to hell. He’d gut the bastard! He’d rip his heart out and shove it inside his lying mouth …
    He turned at the sound of the door’s creaking timbers. His father, Juan, stood before him, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Without a word, David grabbed him by the shoulders and hugged him tenderly. “Papa,” he whispered. “I’ve come home.”
    Juan Sanz, his face leathered with years in the sun, was as tall and as broad as David was. He too was a handsome man, with black deep-set eyes and a mop of bluish-black hair curling at the nape of his neck. But unlike David, he sported an unruly beard, which covered the bottom half of his face.
    Grinning now with pleasure, Juan slapped David on the back. “Son, we didn’t expect to see you this week. What are you doing here?” he whispered.
    David forced a smile, but averted his eyes. “I wanted to see my family, Papa, and I don’t have much time … We need to talk.”
    Juan’s smile froze. “Hmm, that sounds ominous. Why so serious, lad? You must be freezing. Have some supper and a drop of wine. I got it for our feast, such as it was.”
    “I don’t have time to eat, Papa. Will you come with me to the hut? There’s something I have to show you.”
    David’s brothers, also awake now, stared groggily at their brother. One by one, they rose from their pallets and, still half asleep, stumbled towards David.
    “Welcome home,” Diego said, putting his arms around David.
    “Did you bring your new sword?” Juanjo, standing behind Diego, asked.
    “I did, but you mustn’t touch it,” David said, more harshly than intended. His eyes welled up with love. Crushing his family to him, knowing that they might send him away for what he’d done, was terrifying. His heart thumped like a drum in his chest. He flicked his eyes from his father to his brothers, and then straightened his shoulders. He was running out of time. The little girl was probably freezing and starving by now.
    “So tell us, what’s so important that you won’t warm your bones and feed your belly? And what’s this about the hut?” asked Juan.
    “Papa, I’ll tell you everything when we get outside. Please come with me now.”
    The boys looked on expectantly. David, walking towards the door, said, “You two stay here.”
    Juan wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. He shook his head and sighed. “This must be important, son. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to walk all this way from town in the middle