The Scorpion's Helper

In The Scorpion's Helper, a historical fantasy, a beggar girl in King Herod's Jerusalem catches the eyes and heart of Anne, the barren wife of a Temple priest. When Anne brings the child home, she gives the silent girl a name and a bowl and a pallet. She names the girl Ozeret, which means Helper, and the child grows into her name. One morning Ozeret overhears Anne whisper to her husband Joachim that they are finally to have a child of their own. They will name her Mary. When Mary becomes a young woman, Anne sends her, with Ozeret, to a village in the hills of Judea. They are to help Mary's cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant after many barren years. There Mary conceives a son with a shepherd named Judas. She names the baby Jesus. The voice of Mary's god, a voice only Mary can hear, leads her away from Judas to fulfill their son's destiny. Rejected by Mary, Judas struggles against his inner demons and the evil of the world to protect his beloved son. When he fails, Ozeret must rescue Jesus from the scorpion's sting.