Read Online Tanner's War by Amber Morgan - Free Book Online

pleased it didn’t break.
    “I sent you to bring back my bride
and you returned empty-handed. Was it too hard a job? Did I send the wrong son?
Any of your brothers might have done better.” Abram moved behind the altar,
lifting a heavy wicker basket onto it. Angry hisses rattled out of the basket.
    Nathaniel opened his mouth to
argue, then thought better of it. Abram had given him
six lashes. He’d been merciful. It would be best not to provoke him. “You know
how sorry I am, father. Bethany—”
    “Save your excuses.” Abram opened
the basket lid and smiled down at the snakes writhing within. Nathaniel
couldn’t see them, but he knew what they were anyway. One
king snake, banded in blood red and inky black, harmless. And one coral
snake, banded in the same hues, but with sunny yellow too. Venomous. Not deadly with the right antivenin on hand … But who knew if Abram had it to
hand?
    Despite his best efforts to control
himself, Nathaniel quaked.
    “God is good,” Abram said, gripping
the basket. “He wants me to show you mercy. He wants you to prove you can do
better. Will you take His offer, my son? Will you prove to Him and me that you
are more than a worm crawling at His feet?”
    Nathaniel swallowed. “Sir, I live
to serve the Lord and His chosen one.”
    Abram gestured for him to rise.
“’They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not
hurt them.’ Show me your worth, Nathaniel. Show me the Lord still favors you,
and I will favor you the same.”
    Nathaniel stood, his back screaming
in pain as he did. For a second the room spun, the dusty floorboards blurring
with the cracked roof beams. He prayed and the moment passed. He prayed again
and approached the basket, keeping his eyes fixed on his father. If he looked
down and saw the snakes, coiling together in a sinuous mass, he would be sick.
Besides, what test was it if you saw them and knew which one to take up?
    Fingers trembling, he reached into
the basket. Cool, smooth bodies writhed under his hands. He eased his hands
under one of those bodies, praying the reaction would be constriction. Coral
snakes didn’t constrict as a rule, but king snakes always did. Of course, they
bit as well, but he would survive a king snake’s bite with nothing more than a
bruise to show for it.
    He lifted the heavy reptile,
waiting, waiting … When the snake struggled against him, his heart fluttered.
When it wrapped its muscular body around his forearm, he couldn’t help but
weep. He dared to look down at last, seeing the bands of black and red scales
that meant God had blessed him. The king snake curled around his arm and wrist,
squeezing hard, but it didn’t seem agitated. Dizzy with relief, Nathaniel met
his father’s gaze with more strength.
    “God forgives me my failures,” he
said.
    Abram nodded, his expression
revealing nothing. If he was pleased or disappointed, Nathaniel would never
know. “Then don’t waste His forgiveness. Take two of your brothers and go back
to this diner. The harlot there obviously knew the sinner who stole Bethany.
Find out where he took her.”
    Nathaniel set the king snake back
in the basket. “If she won’t talk …”
    Now Abram smiled, and it was cruel.
“She will talk. You will find ways to persuade her.” He shut the basket firmly.
“Bethany is my bride by divine right. If you fail me again, my son, my wrath
will be swift and righteous. Do you understand?”
    Nathaniel nodded. “I won’t let you
down, father.” He hurried from the Church before Abram say anything else, but
he heard his father’s chuckle echoing around the old building as he left, and
it chilled him.
    ****
    Beth had gone back to bed after The
Kiss, mostly because there hadn’t been any other choice. She’d slept
restlessly, mind churning with the memory of Tanner’s arms around her, his lips
on hers. He’d been rough, needy, as if she was some vital elixir. And she’d
responded like a flower opening to the sun,