"I'm a child of Molech." Yehudit said, her voice still low.

Aron could have sworn his heart stopped for a moment, but it continued to beat. "What are you saying? That Molech was the one who attacked your mother?"

Yehudit looked at the floor. "They were serving Molech."

"That doesn't mean you are his child," Aron said softly.

Yehudit shook her head. "It's why I go into rages and... and.. it's what I am."

"Why do you think it's the cause of your rages?" Obviously he would never convince her that even if it were true, she was so much more than just that.

"It's how Molech's children are." Yehudit said.

"And just how did you find this out and come to this conclusion?"

"Sileas found out... She didn't want me to know but I overheard her talking about it." Yehudit said miserably, sure she was going to lose her father over this.

"Why hasn't she come to me and your mother?" Aron asked. "Are you certain you heard correctly?"

"I talked to her about it..." Yehudit fidgeted. "Mama wouldn't believe her, or act like she doesn't believe her. She'd just get angry and more protective of me."

"Your mother is very worried about you and the way you've been hiding. You shouldn't be keeping this from her." Aron fidgeted. "She is going to be even angrier when she finds out you didn't go to her."

"Don't tell her!" Yehudit pleaded. "There's nothing she can do."

"She has the right to know. Your mother is going out of her mind with worry. If I even try to tell her you said everything is fine, you know she will storm down here." Aron glanced down. "Besides, I promised I would never ever  lie to her."

"It's not lying, just don't tell her!" Yehudit panicked.

"Yehudit, when I go back to the hall, she is going to ask me point blank what I found out," he pointed out. "And you know she won't let it go, even if I tell her I didn't find anything out."

"Telling her won't do any good!" Yehudit said.

"It would stop her from believing that Bai and Sileas did something evil to you. And your mother has always wanted to know the cause of the rages. Maybe now that we know, we can find a way to stop them."

"She always finds ways to justify my rages." Yehudit said. "Makes up excuses."

"To you, yes. The rest of us know her dismay at not being able to find the cause of them and how to stop them."

"She hates me." Yehudit said.

"Your mother does not hate you, Yehudit. She loves you. We all love you."

"She's just overcompensating because she hates me." Yehudit said. "She'll hate me even more if you tell her this."

"Nonsense. She's your mother, she could never hate you."

"Then why does she treat me differently from the rest?" Yehudit asked. "She's not like this with Ertzel."