Read Into the Wilderness: Blood of the Lamb (Book Two) for Free Online Page A

of te kabubu paste into Joseph's hand.
    â€œPlease, eat this,” she said. “It'll help to warm you and keep up your strength.” Then she handed him her one spare shirt. “Here. Use this to dry yourself.”
    He looked wet and miserable, his skin paled to a stony grey and wrinkled from the long exposure to the rain. Purple pools of tiredness smudged beneath his eyes. As he stripped off his own soaked shirt he sneezed a spray of te kabubu out across the deck and shrugged.
    â€œWell, the good news is it looks as though the rain has passed.” He pointed east, to where the bank of clouds had retreated. To the west, the sky transformed to vivid blue.
    Maryam scanned the western horizon and spied a flock of birds reeling in the distance, far ahead. “Look! Doesn't that mean we're nearing land?”
    Joseph shielded his eyes against the glare. His face lit up. “You could be right!” Again he sneezed, the force rocking hiswhole body. “Keep a good watch on them—it could mean Marawa Island is up ahead.”
    Despite her relief, Maryam was swept by a terrible foreboding. “Is it protected by a reef?” she asked. She thought back to their wild flight from Onewēre. Even when they'd known the position of the corridor between the deadly shelves of coral, they'd struggled to manoeuvre the big boat safely through. Just how would they navigate a completely unfamiliar reef?
    He guessed her thoughts. “If we approach in daylight we should be right. I'm fairly sure it's just a case of watching for changes in the colour of the sea.”
    Fairly sure? She didn't want to question Joseph's authority, but his words failed to comfort her. They were sailing as blind as old Hushai, in a boat so large it seemed to have a mind of its own. If they should make even the tiniest error of judgement…
    Joseph rubbed his hair as dry as possible with Maryam's shirt and stretched his arms towards the heavens with a tired yawn. “Thanks for your help. Can you take the tiller now? I need some rest.” He draped the two damp shirts across the pandanus thatch to dry. “Keep an eye out for the wind, it's stronger than it looks—and wake me if you see anything that remotely looks like land! I'll get the other two to help you.”
    When Ruth emerged from the shelter, Maryam noticed immediately how much less strained she looked. She had more colour in her face, and even smiled when Maryam pointed out the flock of birds.
    â€œI dreamed we landed in the Lord's own realm, and the Lamb greeted us Himself and made us welcome.”
    Lazarus, refreshed too, laughed. “And just what did He look like, oh great oracle of the high seas?”
    His sneering slapped Ruth's cheeks with pink but she did not falter in her answer. “Like He looked upon the cross. His hands and feet were marked with blood, yet from Him shone a sacred light.”
    There was such awe and longing in her voice it made Maryam want to cry. Despite what Father Joshua had done to her, Ruth's faith was secure. The familiar touchstones of the Holy Book helped keep her sane.
    â€œIt's a sign, Ruthie,” Maryam reassured her. “The Lord is telling you all will be well.”
    â€œEither that or He's telling her she's soon to meet her maker because we're doomed,” Lazarus drawled.
    Always ready with a put-down.
    â€œTake the tiller, Ruth,” Maryam ordered, seizing Lazarus by the arm and towing him up to the front of the boat. Some things could not be left unsaid. “Don't toy with her,” she whispered to him furiously. “I don't care what you say to me, but leave Ruth be.”
    He rubbed the place where her fingers had dug into his elbow, and a caustic smile twisted his mouth. “Let me get this straight. If I leave your friend alone, then I can say whatever I like to you?”
    She nodded reluctantly, realising she'd backed herself into a corner. There was nothing she could do but take