Ethan felt like doing a quick face-to-face appearance for this captain. He only wished the man had a cup of tea in his hand. He reached into the leather satchel for a battle plan just as the unkempt captain said, “His head has gotten so big, I’m surprised he hasn’t insisted on laying out the entire attack plan himself!”
Ethan pulled out the parchment and looked at it. He could not escape the irony of the delivery he was about to make. Ethan became visible to the men. They were just as startled by his sudden appearance as the previous captain had been-only no spilling. “I’ve come as the messenger of Shaddai on behalf of Captain Bonifast. You are required to execute the captain’s strategy for the coming battle to the letter,” Ethan said with an air of authority.
The captain took the parchment and looked at it. “Do you understand your instructions, Captain?” The first mate looked at the captain as he nodded-his wide eyes never leaving Ethan. “Very good, see that you do,” Ethan said, then he disappeared again.
The men immediately broke into a frenzied discussion about the boy who had just appeared and disappeared. They were attempting to figure out if he was an angel or devil and why such a being would bring them battle plans from Levi Bonifast. Ethan looked toward the next ship.
Then a familiar tingling sensation swept over him. Demons! Ethan hid himself, then returned to the physical world. If demons were onboard then they would see him walking on the spiritual plane. He had to investigate without being noticed.
Fortunately, his clothing matched the other sailors. And since many of the crew were young boys, Ethan blended in well. Ethan grabbed a scrub brush and began working on the deck with a bucket of water, keeping his head down. No one questioned him. The tingling sensation grew stronger. He supposed the demon must be coming closer. Then, without a sound, a demon floated over him.
The demon spoke, but not to him in particular. It spewed out words of hatred for King Stephen and his foolish cause, words of discouragement at being a part of this raid on Mordred’s navy, and words of wounded pride for Captain Bonifast’s command. Ethan heard the words as clearly as any other sound aboard the ship. However, the other men seemed not to notice.
Ethan raised his eyes. He listened to the crew as they spoke with one another while doing their work. They complained about being on this voyage-that it was certain death to oppose Mordred. Others spoke of King Stephen’s folly and how they owed no allegiance to the man or his war.
Then Ethan’s realized what was happening. This demon was doing the same thing he had witnessed another demon doing in the council meeting back in Grandee. The demon was sowing doubt, discouragement, hatred, and fear. And those seeds were quickly taking root among this mercenary crew.
Ethan had to know how many others had been turned from this mission unconsciously. If there was a demon here on this ship, then there may be others doing the same on the other ships.
Ethan looked for the demon again. It hovered around the captain and his first mate. Ethan realm shifted, dropping through the deck quickly to avoid being seen by the demon. When he got below deck, into a dim hallway, and saw no one else in the vicinity, he appeared in the physical world again. Ethan walked through rooms and hallways on his way below sea level. He passed several crewmembers, but none of them paid him any attention.
Assuming he had descended far enough, Ethan realm shifted again. He passed through the ship’s hull and into the open sea. Ethan found the next ship and moved toward it.
Ethan passed through the hull unhindered and came into what appeared to be the galley. He saw that the ship’s cook was the only person present. The man faced away from him, concentrating on his cooking. Ethan passed from the spiritual to the physical world, running toward a flight of steps, then up to the main deck. His leather satchel remained by his side with the parchments.
As Ethan ascended the final flight of stairs, he heard the words of discouragement drifting through the air again. He stepped upon the main deck and saw another demon floating among the men who were climbing the rigging. The demon sowed the same seeds of hatred and lies meant to persuade the crew to turn back from the mission.
Ethan ran for the captain’s quarters, even though the captain himself was on deck near the helm. Ethan removed one of the parchments and wedged it into the door for the captain to find later. He could not afford to appear before the man himself.
Ethan scrambled back down the stairs and found a secure location to enter the spiritual realm unnoticed. He passed through the hull once again, out into the Azure Sea. Ethan proceeded to visit each of the remaining ships in this fashion. At each one, he left a document from Captain Bonifast wedged in the captain’s door. And each time he came upon a mercenary ship he found a demon at work spreading lies into the unconscious thoughts of the captain and crew. It was time to report to the Maelstrom and give the unpleasant truth to its captain.
PRAYER
When Ethan returned to the Maelstrom, the sun already waned in the sky. Dusk had come and, even though the dinner bell was ringing for the crew, Gideon and Captain Bonifast still stood on deck, watching and waiting for Ethan to return.
When Ethan landed on the deck of the Maelstrom, stepping back into the physical realm, there was a warm welcome waiting for him from his two new friends.
“Ethan, my boy, you’re safe!” Bonifast said. He took the leather satchel Ethan proffered. “And you’ve completed the task!”
Gideon smiled, patting him on the shoulder.
“I gave them all out, but I bring bad news from the fleet. I’ve seen some discouraging activity among the other ships, particularly the mercenary ships,” Ethan said.
“I see,” Bonifast replied, his joviality fading now. Then he recovered it long enough to say, “If it’s bad news you bring me, then at least we can enjoy a good meal while we hear it, aye? Come now, my friends, let’s dine in my quarters. I’ve asked Cook to prepare us a meal fit for kings.”
True to his word, the meal was fit for royalty-at least if royalty meant they knew good food when it was set before them. Ethan had been starving after his activity in the spiritual realm. He had gone back and forth many times during the course of the day. For some reason he felt less exhausted by the whole ordeal this time than he had been after returning from his fight onboard the slaver ship. Maybe it was the fight, or perhaps he was just getting used to it all. At any rate, realm shifting still gave him a ravenous appetite.
Ethan stuffed food into his mouth from a heaping plate of roast beef, potatoes, and corn. He kept thinking how good everything was.
“Tell me the bad news you’ve brought,” Bonifast said as he took a sip from his glass.
Ethan gulped down the mouthful he’d been chewing. “Well, I boarded two ships loyal to King Stephen and found nothing out of the ordinary.” Ethan neglected to share how he had caused one of the captains to spill his tea. “But when I came to the first of the mercenary ships, I became aware of a demon onboard. I kept out of the creature’s sight in the physical realm, but I could still hear the words it was speaking among the crew.”
“And what were the words?” Gideon asked. The warrior-priest ignored his meal, fully engrossed in Ethan’s story.
“It said things about hating King Stephen and that this mission against Mordred’s navy would take their lives if they continued. The demon even spoke ill against you, Captain.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and I think it was trying to discourage the captains and their crews by saying these things. Each mercenary ship I came to was being worked upon by a different demon in this same manner,” Ethan explained.
“And could the crew members hear these words the way you heard them?” Gideon asked.