Mordred descended the stone stairway into the dank odor of the dungeons. Two soldiers, acting as personal escorts, followed him down into the depths of the white palace. Lichen clung to the stones while rats skittered along the walls, hoping to find something edible. Torches, mounted every ten feet, provided ample light.
When he reached the bottom landing, Mordred strode down the long corridor toward the barred cell at the end. There, four guards stood at attention. He gave them all a cursory glance and then went to the bars of the prison cell.
Inside, a young man in priestly robes lay upon the cell floor among scattered handfuls of dirty straw. The smell of feces assaulted Mordred's senses as he peered within. The torn robes bore filthy blood stains. The man himself appeared gaunt. Bruises covered his exposed skin.
Mordred smiled. "That's very impressive, Scar. The boy should be convinced-only, remember to keep your face hidden until you strike."
The pale, young man sat up on the floor, revealing his face. "Oh, don't worry, my lord. I've made preparations there as well."
Indeed, he had. Scar's face was swollen and purple, one eye unable to open at the moment. His head had been shaved in the same way Gideon wore his hair. "I see," Mordred said, clearly pleased. "You've always done excellent work, Scar. I should have expected nothing less this time."
Scar stood and bowed to Mordred from within the cell. "I only live to serve your interests, Lord Mordred."
Mordred smiled devilishly. "And if you can kill the Deliverer for me, a king's ransom will be yours."
"I don't understand," Gideon said, frustrated. "I didn't agree to destroy the Temple, or kill the High Priest. I only agreed to stop Ethan."
General Grimwald mounted his black stallion, wearing his crimson and black armor. "You agreed to kill the boy and you will serve my master by doing exactly what he requires of you," Grimwald said coldly. "I will do you the courtesy of explaining your situation to you, Gideon. If you value the life of your child, then you will do everything asked of you without any further arguments or questions. Do you understand?"
Gideon nodded, then mounted his horse, his indignation burning. Grimwald was right. Mordred had him. He could and would ask anything he wanted, and maybe when the warlord was satisfied, they would be released.
Grimwald pulled the reins to steady his animal. "Frankly, Gideon, Hevas Rommil was a friend of mine. After what you did to him, I'd be all too happy to put the blade to your whimpering brat myself."
Gideon fumed, but held his temper. "That's what got Hevas Rommil killed," he said. "I'd hate to see the same, or worse happen to you, General."
Grimwald stared at him in disgust, perhaps hoping to turn the comment around to his advantage. Instead, he snapped the reins, goading his horse out of the stalls. Gideon grimaced and followed.
When the two men emerged onto the staging field, Gideon's mouth nearly dropped open. Before him stood an army of five hundred heavily armed men on horses. The number nearly doubled those present at the Temple of Shaddai. His immediate thought had been discouragement, but then Gideon realized Grimwald wouldn't have enough men.
Grimwald must have guessed what he had been thinking. "Not as many as you would have thought, priest?" Grimwald asked. Gideon looked at him, but gave no answer. "Don't worry, Gideon, these five hundred men you see here, will each have the strength of ten soldiers."
"Why is that?" Gideon asked.
"Our allies will be joining us before we assault the Temple," Grimwald boasted.
Gideon gave the man a curious look. "No demon has ever penetrated the Temple compound."
"True enough," Grimwald admitted, "but they will now enter through my men."
Gideon wanted to laugh at the General's plan, but he wasn't sure it would fail. The technical aspects of the relationship between spiritual and physical realms eluded him. Still, the possibility of demons breaching the Temple defenses seemed horrifying. Even a possessed old woman had been a surprisingly difficult opponent. Gideon could only imagine the result of five hundred battle-hardened soldiers empowered by demons.
"You will ride by me," Grimwald commanded. Then he moved his horse to the head of the columns of soldiers. Gideon complied, following after the General on his black stallion.
General Grimwald gave the order and the company began to march out of the city. The columns of soldiers thundered behind Grimwald and Gideon. Heavily armed Wagons, filled with provisions and weapons, followed after them.
As their procession passed through the eastern gate in the white wall, Gideon looked back. He hoped that Ethan would not try to rescue him from Emmanuel. Any attempt would lead him into a trap and now Gideon wouldn't even be there to be rescued.
Gideon turned, watching General Grimwald bobbing in his saddle. He hated this man. With every fiber of his being, Gideon desired to kill him and stop this madness. His entire life's work, the dedication of his whole existence had been betrayed. Gideon found himself the architect of his own ruin. He'd betrayed Ethan, betrayed The Order of Shaddai and even Sarah by his willingness to bring her into a dangerous association with himself.
The Thornhill Mountains, with only the faintest glimmer of their snowcapped peaks visible, lay before him. Soon Gideon would be forced to kill the man who had nurtured him-his mentor and friend. If he was fortunate, the priests would kill this entire army before he ever got the opportunity. Perhaps he would simply falter on purpose and allow the High Priest to kill him instead.
Gideon didn't know if he could do it-to leave his and Sarah's child in Mordred's hands-left to be killed by the warlord. Worse still, was the thought that Mordred might spare the child and rather raise him to become some twisted pawn in his grasp. Gideon realized he might be condemning the soul of his son by that possibility. No, he had to return. He had to save their son from a fate worse than death.
Gideon goaded his stallion, attempting to keep pace with General Grimwald. They had left at an unexpected hour, late in the day. Night would fall soon and Grimwald hoped to cover as much ground as possible before they made camp.
Gideon watched the distant mountains. A knot formed in his stomach. His betrayal was hard enough to endure away from the eyes and understanding of his friends. Soon he would have to face them and be completely exposed to his shame.
Purple and pink hues played across the approaching twilight sky as Ethan watched the guards at the gates of the city from his hiding place several hundred yards away. As soon as darkness fell completely, he and Levi would make their move. He spotted the place where they would enter the city, a long shadow draped over the white granite wall to the right of the guard post.
Levi breathed heavy next to Ethan, lying on the ground among several tufts of monkey weed which dotted the plain before the city on either side of the Emmanuel Road. The smell of death and decay lingered from the slaughter of King Stephen's army almost a year earlier. Ethan wondered, for a moment, how the monarch had been received by his people of Wayland after his failed attempt at a coup in Nod.
The sun continued its slow descent toward the mountains in the west. Levi turned from his brass spyglass. "Do you see any demon activity out there?"
Ethan had been watching, but everything spiritual seemed strangely quiet. "No." But doubt lingered in his mind. He knew this might as well have been dubbed Demon Central, considering who ruled here, but he hadn't spotted even one of the rebellious angels since they'd begun watching an hour ago. Ethan wondered if he and the others were somehow about to walk into a trap, but he didn't voice his concerns. Trap or no, he intended to go into the city and then the palace in order to rescue his friend.
Elspeth's need of rescuing goaded him. He had no idea if she had been brought to Emmanuel, or even if she still lived. Somehow, Ethan believed she had survived though he had only his gut feeling to convince him. Gideon on the other hand had been seen. Ethan knew if the tables were turned, Gideon would certainly risk everything to save him.
The pair waited patiently for the sun to dip beyond the horizon. When it had, they crept forward from their hiding place. The guards would have no way of seeing either of them until they got within the light cast by the torches mounted at their guard station beside the main gate.
Ethan surveyed the area again for demonic activity. He couldn't find anything. Even the tell tale tingling, so valuable to him in days gone by, told him nothing now. "I'm going to rush them," Ethan said. "You start running now, and they'll be down when you get there." Levi only had time to look over at him before Ethan vanished.
He had been very relieved to find his realm-shifting ability return after leaving Macedon. Whether he had been adversely affected by Jericho's power or simply his overriding fear of failure, he never knew. But now, Ethan felt better and more capable with this power than ever. Seth's revelation about the village he'd been working with for so many years, and the Word finding safe haven among its residents bolstered his lacking faith more than anything. Shaddai had truly been in complete control all along.
In the spiritual realm, Ethan crossed the remaining one hundred yards in a second. He reached out from the ethereal plane to grab both men by the brain. They both jerked upright. Ethan squeezed in such a way that both seized and fell unconscious.
Levi arrived panting a moment later. "Let's get into their uniforms fast," he said. Ethan reappeared and rolled one of the soldiers over, then began stripping off his armor. Levi did the same and soon they were dressed in the apparel of Mordred's army. "How long will these two be out," Levi asked.
"I'm not sure," Ethan said. "My guess is a good while-at least long enough that it shouldn't matter."
Levi looked up at the white granite towering over them. "We'd better get over the wall quickly and start making our way toward the palace."
Ethan pointed to a place down the wall's perimeter. "Those shadows there will be the best place to go over."
Levi ran down the length of the wall until he came to the place. Ethan appeared in front of him, startling the captain. "I wish you wouldn't do that," he said.
"Sorry," Ethan said, grinning. He disappeared again, then hoisted Levi into the air. He rose up the wall held by invisible hands. When they reached the top of the wall, two guards were busy patrolling.
Ethan tossed Levi at one of the men while he quickly silenced the other, still invisible. The first guard barely caught a glimpse of Levi before he tackled him from the air. The captain subdued the soldier, then saw Ethan appear again next to the other unconscious guard. He pointed toward the other side of the wall, then ran toward Levi, disappearing mid-stride.
Ethan seized the captain and carried him over the other side. They touched down on the ground in shadow and Ethan materialized next to his friend. "Let's move before those guards are discovered."
The pair began walking toward the white palace in the distance. Soon they had fully merged with other pedestrians making their way to their homes for supper or out to taverns for a night of debauchery. The armor allowed them to blend in perfectly. No one stopped or questioned them along the way to the palace.
Ethan tried to feel confident in their rescue plan, but he knew it was a long shot at best. Dung the rat had been working with the normal-sized rats in the area, and the dungeon had been located successfully. From there the plan became fairly straight forward. Ethan and Levi would provide a suitable diversion while Seth and Dung released Gideon and took him out through the tunnel the rats had excavated over the past two weeks.
Ethan watched Levi as he strode blissfully down the street through Emmanuel City. He had wanted to conduct the diversion part of the plan alone, but Levi wouldn't hear it, sighting Ethan's impetuous throne room fiasco. He rubbed the scars beneath his shirt. The wounds still ached now and then, reminding him not to rush ahead of the Lord.
At last, they saw great structures in the distance. "There are the lodges built for the Anakim giants, Ethan," Levi said. "I knew as soon as I saw them the other day. Those things had to be built for them."
Ethan surveyed the long wooden barracks which had been constructed upon the far end of the training fields. There were half a dozen lodges each nearly a quarter mile in length. The seams had been braced with metal strips riveted into the wood. The smell from the giants permeated the entire city.
"Do you suppose they're already inside sleeping?" Ethan asked.
Levi looked in every direction. "I hope so. They're certainly not running around out here in the city anywhere. Either way it should provide a good diversion to keep Mordred's men busy while they get Gideon out."
A group of soldiers passed by. Ethan and Levi tried to look occupied and didn't turn toward the others. The group passed on and took little notice of them. "Are you sure that rat told you right?" Levi asked.
"Dung sent the little rats into the dungeons to make sure," Ethan said. "They assured him that only one prisoner was kept there and the description matched Gideon's. I don't think the little guys would lie to Dung. They treat him as though he was their king."
Levi rolled his eyes. "Oh boy, King Dung. I'm sure that won't go to his head."
"Let's get moving," Ethan said. "We need to find some barrels of lamp oil or something flammable to do this."
"By the way, have you seen any demons yet?"
"Nothing so far," Ethan reported. Levi started toward the lodges with Ethan following. They walked out onto the training fields. Vast areas of dying grass had been torn up in places due to all of the simulated combat.
Ethan noticed all of the weaponry Mordred was stockpiling behind the city walls and wondered who he intended to attack. Cleary, he had his men gearing up for something big. Mordred had the giant Anakims, massive engines of war, as well as his cavalry and his infantry. His target would have a tough time defending against all of this.
Fortunately the fields stood all but abandoned with no one guarding them. This gave Ethan and Levi an easy trip to their targets on the far side of the field. They passed a range where cannons, muskets and other shooting weapons had been assembled.
Levi paused. "Ethan, look!" He grinned fiendishly, patting a stack of wooden barrels standing next to the cannons and muskets. "Gunpowder, my boy!"
Ethan smiled, then looked at their route to the lodges standing about one hundred yards away. "It looks all clear, doesn't it?"
"As far as I can tell, but we'd better hurry," Levi said. "We don't want to be caught carrying barrels of gunpowder around."
Ethan thought about the likelihood of getting what they needed over to the lodges without being spotted. "I've got an idea. You go on over there and keep watch for any guard patrols while I take these up high away from the torchlight and bring them over."
Levi nodded, looked around again, then started for the Anakim lodges.
Ethan realm shifted onto the spiritual plane again. He drew his sword from its place hovering at his side, then thought about what he needed to do and how to do it. The sword obeyed his thoughts, transforming into a long length of chain.
Ethan whipped the chain toward the stack of gunpowder barrels, and it lashed itself over and around them. The chain snaked its way throughout, forming a net that surrounded all of the barrels. Ethan gripped the sword-chain and launched into the night air.
The chain intruded into the physical realm and picked up the stack of gunpowder barrels. To the naked eye, the barrels appeared to fly into the air as one unit and disappear high in the sky.
He carried them over the expanse toward the huge wooden lodges where Levi waited. Ethan searched for demons, but still found none anywhere within the city walls. Their absence became more disconcerting by the moment. Surely, all the demons hadn't abandoned the seat of Mordred's power. That would have been too much to hope for. In the back of his mind, Seth's warning echoed again. This is a trap, and Gideon is the bait.
Ethan carefully lowered the barrels of gunpowder to the ground next to Levi. The captain stood in shadow on the side of the first lodge, watching for guard patrols. He smiled in fascination as the stack of barrels descended and came to rest quietly on the ground. Ethan appeared a moment later. "I didn't see anyone," Levi said.
"Me neither, not even demons," Ethan said. "It's strange. They were so adamant about protecting these giants aboard the slaver ship before."
"Well, they're inside Mordred's city now," Levi mused. "They wouldn't have any reason to protect them now."
Ethan nodded though for some reason he felt unconvinced.
"Anyway, it's too late to worry about that now. We're trying to draw everyone's attention."
Ethan withdrew the cork stopping the top of two of the barrels. "I'll spread this one over the lodges while you plant the other barrels. He disappeared again. Levi watched as the two uncorked barrels floated upward in Ethan's invisible grip and flew out of sight over the roof.
Ethan tipped the first barrel horizontally so that the grains of black powder rained down over the roof of the first lodge. When he felt enough had been dropped there, he moved on to the next roof. Within ten minutes, he had distributed the contents of both black powder barrels over the lodges. Then, he came back to meet Levi.
The captain hustled back from behind the first lodge just as Ethan materialized again. "Are we all set?"
Levi nodded through his heavy breathing. "Boy, the smell just gets worse," he said with a big sigh. "Let's move."
The two of them ran back toward the palace. Levi grabbed a torch from a stand along the way, through the training fields, then turned. He ran back toward the lodges a few paces and heaved the torch. The flame arced through the air and came down on the roof of the first. Sparks leaped away, and fire ran across the roof line, devouring the black powder Ethan had left behind.
They both stood watching for a moment. "I'm not sure that will do the job of igniting the other barrels, Ethan."
Ethan realm shifted again and drew his spiritual sword. It shone with a heavenly light. He prayed for help, then suddenly found the sword drawing his arm back. He understood its intention, then flung it back toward the barrels Levi had placed at the entrance to each Anakim lodge.
The heavenly blade gathered momentum as it flew through the ether, spinning like a buzz saw. The light it emitted intensified so that it burned white hot. When it sailed through the first barrel, it ignited and exploded. The front of the first lodge shattered and crumbled. The explosion scattered its fire which ignited the roof of the second lodge.
The sword kept spinning and flew through the next barrel and the next until it had hit all of them. Each explosion destroyed the front of the lodge next to it and scattered more fire, igniting the stray powder left by Ethan. Within seconds, the entire set of Anakim lodges stood partially dilapidated and burning. The sword reappeared at Ethan's side as it had been before.
As Ethan materialized beside the wide-eyed Captain Bonifast, giants burst through the fiery walls of the lodges. They ran screaming out into the training yard with their clothes on fire. Some crashed through the walls, fell over, and didn't move again.
The resulting fire threatened the palace itself and lit up the entire training grounds. Alarm bells resounded from the palace and the city proper. Soldiers came running to stop the raging inferno.
Ethan started toward the wall on the north side. "Let's go. Seth and Dung should have gotten to Gideon by now."
Levi bolted after him, smiling as he watched the training yards burn.