She is named for Miriam, the sister of Moses—a prophetess and one of the greatest women in Jewish history. She lives in a time when her people are all but slaves, and she dreams of doing as Miriam did: of dancing deliverance and ushering in freedom. Of mattering.

But the dream is bitter, for she is more enslaved than any other she knows: she is Miriam of Magdala, possessed of seven devils.

This short story is a powerful, poetic interpretation of the life of Mary Magdalene and the Messiah she longs for.

Rachel Starr Thomson is also the author of Taerith, the Seventh World Trilogy (Worlds Unseen, Burning Light, and Coming Day), and other novels and short stories.