The pairs of red eyes glowed and spread out so that they ran along the walls and even across the ceiling. A torch flashed into view. Ethan slammed into someone at full speed. The torch spun away and hit the wall sending out a flurry of cinders.
Two horrible slimy monsters stood before him. The smell wrenched his nose making him want to vomit. He tried to claw his way backwards as the monsters approached. The rats flooded around them, and Ethan screamed again. The voices laughed and Jericho’s face seemed to fill the corridor with multiple views of the Demon Lord.
Levi shook Ethan by the shoulders as the boy flailed frantically in his arms. His eyes were drawn to something unseen in the corridor. Seth picked up the torch and brought it near. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, Seth. He’s not responding to me at all. Ethan!”
“I don’t think he can hear us right now. He may be under a spiritual attack of some kind,” Seth observed.
Levi shook him again, but his expression remained frozen in terror. “Ethan, wake up!”
“Listen,” Seth whispered. “The shelling has stopped.”
Indeed, only the mournful cries of the wounded and dying could be heard echoing through the castle corridors now.
“That means Rommil will be marching his men into the castle soon,” Seth said.
Levi watched Ethan. “What about the boy?”
“He needs prayer. Only the Lord can break this attack.”
Levi watched the young blind warrior as he called out to Shaddai, asking for his intervention. He prayed earnestly. Silently, Levi added his own prayer to Seth’s.
Ethan’s tense, shuddering body began to relax quickly. Bonifast watched his face and soon saw signs of real consciousness. Ethan blinked. His gaze settled on Levi’s face.
“Ah!” he screamed.
“Ethan it’s me,” Levi said hastily, remembering what he must look like after their trip through the sewer pipe.
Ethan calmed at the familiar sound of his voice, then reached up and rubbed some of the slime away from his friend’s face. “Levi?” He sniffed, then curled his nose. “You stink! You smell like a sewer. Where in the world have you been?”
Levi smiled. “A sewer, where else?”
Seth moved the torch closer. “Gentlemen, I think it’s now time to leave. The general’s men will storm these ramparts within moments.”
“Who are you?” Ethan asked, noticing the young man for the first time. “I remember seeing you on the street begging.”
“Yes. My name is Seth. I was sent to Macedon years ago by The Order of Shaddai.”
Ethan blinked again, trying to remember. “The Order…Gideon. Where is he?”
Levi looked puzzled. “We assumed he must be somewhere here in the castle with you.”
“We got separated after the explosions hit the castle. We’ve got to find him.”
“Impossible now,” Seth said, standing to his feet. He helped Levi get Ethan up on his feet.
“Look, Seth, we can’t leave Gideon here,” Ethan said.
Seth moved closer so that he stared blankly at Ethan’s face. “Deliverer, I know I speak for Gideon when I say, we must not risk your safety any further. General Rommil will enter the castle soon, and we’re going to have a tough time getting out of here as it is. Now, we must go.”
Ethan stood still, refusing to budge. “What makes you think you can speak for my friend?”
Seth stopped. “Because he was my friend long before he was yours. Now, act like a priest of Shaddai and do what is necessary and not what you feel.” He took off down the dark corridor toward the inner parts of the castle.
Levi squeezed Ethan’s shoulder. “As much as it pains me to say it, lad, he’s right. Let’s go.”
He had to tear the young man from his spot, but Ethan gave in and followed them down the hallway. Levi called up ahead to the blind priest leading their way. “Where are we going, Seth?”
In the darkness, Levi ran right up on three of King Nichol’s soldiers. They spun around, two carrying torches, another holding a sword. Their clothes were tattered and stained with blood, probably their own. They spotted Ethan and reacted.
“The Deliverer!”
As Ethan came up behind the Levi, the soldier with the sword lunged at the boy. Ethan didn’t have time to react. Seth appeared from the shadows blocking the strike at the soldier’s wrists. His left foot snapped up to make contact with the man’s chin, chest, and groin in turn. Within a fraction of a second, the blind priest held the sword, while the soldier lay in a heap on the floor with his companions watching in astonishment.
“Rommil has turned on you, gentlemen,” Seth said to the soldiers. “I would suggest you use the strength you have left to flee this castle with your lives.”
The two soldiers took a moment to gauge the situation-three against two. They shrugged at one another, turned, and ran back the way they had come.
“Where are we going to go, Seth?” Ethan asked, looking around.
Seth turned and ran through an archway hidden in the shadows. “The dungeon.”
DUNGEON MASTER
Jericho only half noticed the advance of General Rommil’s troops down the hillside, through the trees beyond, and into the pocked castle courtyard. His focus remained on Ethan and the promotion of fear. The soldiers advanced without any resistance whatsoever. After all, King Nichols had been under his command in reestablishing his throne and the invitation to the priests of Shaddai.
Jericho constructed the elements around the boy to encourage panic. Through the spiritual plane, he conjured visions and voices to haunt the boy. He promoted the rush of adrenaline and the myriad chemical components of a take-flight-response to what the boy was experiencing.
Jericho felt his racing pulse, his labored erratic breathing, and the sweat pouring from his pores. I have you, Deliverer!
Overwhelming light severed him from the darkness. An ethereal blade lashed out at him from a towering figure that materialized before him. Jericho instantly abandoned his hold on the boy to save himself from the sudden onslaught. The angel rushed his retreat and overtook him with a thunderous blow to the face.
Jericho reeled. Smoke rose from the white-hot wound left by the angel’s fist. He flew at his attacker, grappled with him, and then stammered back again. “Let me pass!”
The angel said nothing.
Jericho shot over the angel, but was quickly intercepted and cast down. He tried to reach the boy through his connection. Nothing.
“How? Why? What is the meaning of this interference in mortal affairs?” Jericho demanded.
The angel cocked one eyebrow with curious satisfaction and then spoke. “Prayer.”
Jericho screamed like an animal, then flew at the angel with his sword in hand. Thunder sounded as their blades smashed together in combat. Jericho wailed on his opponent repeatedly, but ultimately the angel proved too powerful.
He sidestepped an attack and caught Jericho full force with his heavenly sword. Jericho floundered backward to the ground, realizing his predicament. “No! Not now!”
His spiritual body began to dissolve while the angel watched. The angel disappeared with a smile on his face, leaving Jericho to disintegrate. The demon watched as the mortal plane, the castle, and the Deliverer faded from his vision. He would have to wait to find him again.
Seth led Ethan and Levi down into the depths of King Nichol’s castle. Levi carried their torch and a sword recovered from the unconscious soldier. He brought up the rear as they descended the stone steps of a long spiraling staircase.
“If you don’t mind my asking,” Levi said, “why exactly are we going into the dungeon?”
Seth’s voice echoed back from the darkness ahead. “With General Rommil’s forces invading the castle we’ll need a secure way out.”
“There’s a secure way down here?” Ethan asked.