“Your heart is too soft!” one of the shepherds jeered at the red-bearded one. “Of what use to us is an untrained village boy?”

The red-bearded shepherd shrugged. “Peter needs help with his duties,” he said. “And I have a good feeling about this one.”

The others snorted and tossed up their hands in mock exasperation. Despite Solomon’s rationale, they suspected he had purchased the boy out of pity. Still, they did not question his actions. No shepherd worth his salt would ever be foolish enough to challenge the decisions of his leader.

Shaken by their banter, Anna scanned the horizon looking for her father. But he was gone.

She then noticed the red-bearded shepherd walking toward her. He came to within a few feet and stopped. His gaze rose from her sandaled feet to her chopped hair and settled on her bruised face.

“I am sorry about your mother,” he said.

Anna kept silent.

Was he taunting her?

“I, too, lost my mother in this village,” the man said. He looked off quickly, blinking.

Anna’s head jerked up.

Zahra! she thought, seeing an echo of the old woman’s gaze in the gray eyes of her son.

The shepherd drew a forearm across his eyes. “Yours is a difficult path,” he said. “But, sometimes,” he added, his eyes drifting toward the horizon, “we are called upon before we are ready.”

Anna’s eyebrows wrinkled.

“You do not agree?”

She kept silent.

Did he know it had been her father who had taken Zahra’s life? Would he kill her to avenge his mother’s death?

The shepherd stepped closer and patted Anna on the back. “My name is Solomon,” he said. “Come join your brothers.”

Anna refused to follow and stood her ground. She wanted to run. To hide.

But where?

Her resistance made Solomon grin. He came back and led her by the shoulder. “Do not be afraid,” he said.

As they came closer to the other shepherds, Anna could smell their filth. Their deep, gruff voices scraped her ears. The pungent odor of goat urine stung her throat. She needed to escape. She looked in the direction that her father had run but could not find him on the horizon. When she felt Solomon’s hand drop from her shoulder, she bolted. Her legs splayed like scissors. Before she could take five steps, a strong arm hooked around her waist. “Where do you think you are going?” a rough voice asked. “We paid six shekels for you!”

Anna smelled old sweat and dirty leather. She fought her captor like a wildcat. The shepherd kept his grip firm. He knew well how to restrain animals that did not wish to be caught. He turned to Solomon. “Let us leave this forsaken village,” he said.