Avenger of Blood by John Hagee

family to mourn for him, Peter had prepared an ossuary to honor their father’s memory. She loved her brother for that gesture.
    â€œHe faced death bravely,” Rebecca said.
    Galen had squeezed her hand. “I know. I heard the story.”
    After a lingering moment of silence, she said, “I’m ready to talk.”
    They walked back outside, and Rebecca leaned against the cool marble while Galen closed the cumbersome doors. When he came and stood beside her, she began, “There’s been so much death around me. Victor was like a gift of life.
    â€œIt didn’t seem like much of a gift at first. He was conceived on the worst night of my life, a night I barely survived, and most of the time I was carrying him I felt I was walking through ‘the valley of the shadow of death’—although I never left the mountaintop cave where I was hiding.”
    She had told him then about being raped. She didn’t tell him all the gruesome details but neither did she gloss over the facts.
    When she was finished, Galen turned his face to the wall and wept. Rebecca came up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her cheek against his back. She was touched by the depth of his sorrow for her.
    â€œIt’s all right,” she had said. “I’m all right. I survived.”
    In a moment he lifted her hands so he could turn and look at her. He leaned forward and she thought he was going to kiss her, then he bent down and simply placed his forehead against hers. He put his hands on her waist but didn’t embrace her, and she sensed Galen was struggling to comprehend what had happened to her and how it had changed both of their lives.
    He didn’t say anything for so long, it began to worry her. “Do you still love me?” she finally asked.
    â€œRebecca, I could never stop loving you.”
    Galen might not have stopped loving her, but he had grown more and more distant. He didn’t come to see her the rest of the week. When he joined the Christians who met at the villa for worship on the Lord’s Day, Galen had greeted Rebecca affectionately and sat by her. Several times he acted as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite get the words out. He left when the others did, so she never got to speak with him privately.
    The same thing had happened the following week, and the week after that. A few times her brothers had asked why Galen hadn’t been around much, and Rebecca found herself making excuses that he was busy. But the truth was, she didn’t know why Galen was keeping his distance, and it was killing her. She alternated between being angry with him and being wounded by his absence. She thought of a number of errands that would take her right past his shop, but pride kept her from seeking him out. He would have to come to terms with the changes in their relationship in his own way, in his own time.
    A month after Rebecca’s return, she had finally been propelled to action when her mother’s longtime friend, Helena, had cornered her one Sunday. “When are you and Galen getting married?” Helena asked bluntly. Rebecca didn’t have an answer, and she realized just how much she needed one. She deserved an answer.
    She found Galen in the atrium as he was leaving and managed to get him alone. “I need to talk to you,” she said. “Now.”
    He looked trapped, and she felt a brief moment of sympathy. It passed quickly. He had treated her badly.
    â€œI have some questions, and I deserve some answers,” she said when they had walked outside, away from the others.
    â€œYes, you do.” He glanced at her briefly, then looked away. “I just don’t know if I have any answers yet.”
    Find some soon, she was tempted to say. Instead she took a deep breath. This was definitely one time she didn’t want to have to pull Galen’s thoughts out of him, especially because she was more than a