With a sure grip on his sword, Thomas held the key before him like a shield. A bolt of fire came hurtling toward him. He staggered when the fire struck, and when he regained his balance, the beast was upon him.
The attack was more sudden and ferocious than anything Thomas had ever known. In one swift blow, the beast hurled Thomas to the ground. He rolled quickly to one side as a fiery dart smote the earth where he had been. Flapping its enormous wings, the beast filled the cavern with blinding dust from the ancient floor.
Thomas closed his eyes for an instant, and in that moment the beast struck with its deadly talons. Thomas felt them rip across his body. “Help me, Lord,” he cried.
The monster leaped into the air, determined to crush his adversary with one final blow.
With strength beyond his own, Thomas held the blade aloft in his hand. Gloating in its victory, the creature did not notice Thomas’s blade, and he came crashing down upon its razor-sharp point.
Thomas lay beneath the vanquished monster. He could not move. “Help me!” he whispered, but his voice was lost in the silent cavern. Hope faltered, and his life lingered in the balance.
Suddenly he heard someone whisper “My lord,” and the sound was as sweet and pure as a mountain stream awakening from a long winter’s sleep.
Seagood, Helsa, and the party had ridden almost nonstop, and it was growing dark as they entered Mandra’s courtyard. They had stopped only for brief intervals along the way. Helsa was good in the saddle, but today she had ridden with men accustomed to that lifestyle. When she slid from her horse, her bones ached, and she felt exhausted, yet she entered the shepherd’s cave with anticipation and bated breath.
“Seagood!” Rudy shouted, rushing from the curtained bedroom at the sound of their arrival. Mandra and his wife bowed low to the Lord and the Lady.
Weary as they were from the ride, Seagood studied Rudy and asked with his eyes the question that had haunted him throughout his long journey. Is Thomas alive?
“Barely,” Rudy said. “Mathias has not left his side. Thomas is delirious. He babbles nonsense and will take no water. His fever rages, and we cannot keep him cool.”
Seagood dampened a cloth in the water basin and slipped behind the curtain that separated Thomas from the main room. Unsure what else to do, Helsa followed.
Thomas was pallid and still, and Helsa gasped when she saw him. She thought they had come too late. She sank to the floor, and tears filled her eyes. Before she realized what she was doing, she whispered, “My lord!”
The room grew silent. Seagood stared around the room. He knew that neither he nor his sister could speak. In fact, since the curse, very few in the Gray Lands could speak, but he’d just heard someone whisper, and he was sure it hadn’t been Rudy or Mathias. Turning to his sister, he whispered, “Helsa!” A look of incredulity spread across his face. “You … you can talk! I can talk!” he said more boldly. “Dear heavenly Father!” Seagood sank to his knees and raised his hands in prayer. “I thank You, Lord! You have lifted the curse from my people!” He turned to where Thomas lay. “This must be the man foretold by the prophets.”
Slowly Seagood rose from his knees and addressed everyone in the room. “The prophets foretold that the curse would be lifted with the coming of the king. That did not happen when I came to the Gray Lands, but now that Thomas is here …” He studied every face in the room. Pointing to where Thomas lay, he said, “I tell you, the king has come!”
Suddenly there was shouting outside, and Seagood, Rudy, and Mathias rushed out to investigate. Wart and the old couple went as far as the door, leaving Helsa alone with Thomas.
Helsa laid her cheek upon Thomas’s fevered hand. Her tears washed through his fingers. “Oh, my king,” she sobbed. “You have removed my reproach. Do not leave me now.”
Thomas’s fever broke suddenly, and he struggled to move. His breath came in great, ragged gasps. Fearing that Thomas had entered the throes of death, Helsa withdrew. Thomas opened his eyes and stared in disbelief, for before him stood the beautiful Lady of the Lake.
CHAPTER 31
Healing
During Thomas’s convalescence, messengers traveled back a forth between Mandra’s cave and Gray Haven. The entire kingdom had been set free. The morning after Helsa met Thomas, people awakened from their slumber to open their mouths, and for the first time in years, words spilled out.
The nation was giddy with excitement. Everyone knew the king had surely returned, for the prophecy had been fulfilled and the curse of silence lifted. Extensive plans were being made at Gray Haven for the king’s arrival.
Things were calmer back at Mandra’s cave. One morning, Wart and Rudy sat outside Mandra’s house with their backs against the wall, soaking up sunshine. They knew these days of leisure would come to an end, so they were taking advantage of the ones they had. “Rudy,” Wart asked, “what’s it like to fall in love?”
“Ah-hah,” the big man laughed. “Who is the lucky girl? I didn’t know you had your eye on anyone.”
“Not me, silly,” Wart said, leaning forward and peering inside Mandra’s house. Putting his finger across his lips, he motioned for Rudy to look inside.
The door was ajar, letting fresh air into the kitchen. The cot had been moved to the outer room, and Thomas lay quietly with his head resting on Helsa’s lap. She ran her fingers gently through his hair, massaging his scalp and temples. Dreamy contentment covered Thomas’s sleeping features.
Rudy cleared his throat and motioned Wart away from the door. Glancing about, he saw several of Seagood’s company still in the courtyard. “There’s not much danger for Thomas here,” he announced far louder than was necessary. “Ahem!” he cleared his throat again and glanced into the house. “It doesn’t look like we’re needed around here, Wart!”
The “sleeping” Thomas grinned and weakly waved the vocal intruder away, never opening his eyes for fear the spell would be broken and his “therapy” would end.
Rudy grinned and waved to Helsa, who blushed and lowered her eyes. “Wart,” Rudy bellowed to no one in particular, “I think you and I need to go fishing.”
Thomas healed quickly. His attitude was good, and his strength was returning. He would carry permanent scars from his ordeal, and sometimes his companions worried about him, for he would ask the strangest questions, such as “Did you see the size of that monster?” or “I’ve lost the key! Have you seen my key?”
Seagood had already turned the kingdom over to Thomas in his mind. Thomas’s coming had fulfilled the prophecies by lifting the curse of silence, so surely he was the promised king.
Strangely, his heart was not burdened at the thought of losing the kingdom. He rejoiced to see strength and vigor return to his master. He noticed too that Helsa was a changed person. He didn’t resent her attraction to Thomas, but he did feel some regret when he remembered how desperately she had clung to him before.
He watched as Thomas and Helsa bade farewell to Mandra and his wife, thanking them over and over for their labors and for the use of their home during Thomas’s recovery. They walked hand in hand across the courtyard to where Rudy waited to assist them into their saddles.
I lose my kingdom and my sister, yet I rejoice, Seagood thought. He raised his eyes to heaven and whispered, “Thank you.”
The blare of trumpets split the morning air. The riders rode three abreast: Thomas in the center, Hesketh to his right, and Helsa to his left. Cheering crowds lined the roads as almost an entire nation poured out to see the lords and lady.
Some questioned whether the man riding in the center was really their king. They had expected the king of old to return, or some powerful warlord to come in great strength. This man appeared tired and feeble from his ordeal. Was he really the deliverer?
Even if Thomas was not all that people might have expected, that did not stop them from celebrating. The many long years of silence were over
, and deliverance had come. It was time to rejoice!
The sound of feasting and merriment echoed through the halls. Minstrels played their instruments and composed songs about mighty deeds. Hesketh, Thomas, and Mathias spoke little and withdrew early, as did the Lady Helsa and her uncle. But stories were abundant as Rudy and Wart told of their own adventures.
In a quiet room far from the noise and merriment, Hesketh revealed his plan for the coronation of Thomas. “We shall do it soon—the day after tomorrow, if you like.”
Thomas stood and turned to those who were gathered in the room. “The Gray Lands belong to you and your lovely sister, Lord Hesketh. Levi and Helsa have walked with your people through the darkness of a dreadful time in your history. You, Hesketh, the rightful ruler, have returned to your people. My life is richer for having known you throughout my childhood, and I owe you my life because you came to my rescue. But I cannot accept the kingship. It is yours. My home is in Amity by the sea. I shall remain here only until I can return to my father.”
Thomas turned to Seagood and bowed low. “Hesketh, Lord of the Gray Lands, I humbly ask for peace between your kingdom and mine. I shall ever count you as my brother and my friend.”
Thomas’s words shocked the small cluster of people. Seagood’s mouth moved, but he could find no words to say.
Helsa stood and took Thomas’s arm. “But you have just arrived.” Her eyes sought his. “What will we tell the people if you should leave? You have set our people free.”
Thomas shook his head. “I have not set you free, dear lady,” he said gently. “It was Jesus Christ who drove the demon from you. I fought my own battle with Silence, and he nearly bested me, but you came to my rescue.” He gently patted her hand.
“He’s slipping again,” someone whispered to Levi, who was seated in the chair of honor.
“Slipping?” the old man asked aloud. “What do you mean?”
“He starts babbling about some key he thinks he’s lost.”
“Key!” Levi exclaimed, slapping his knee and rising from his chair. “That reminds me.” With as much pomp and dignity as he could muster on the spot, Levi rose, crossed the room, and knelt before Lady Helsa. “On the night of your departure, dear child, you entrusted me with the emblem of your authority.” He removed the key from about his neck where it lay hidden amidst the thick hair upon his chest, and he handed the key carefully to Helsa. “I now return this key to its rightful owner.”
Helsa stood awkwardly, turning her eyes from her uncle to Thomas and then to her brother. “The kingdom is not mine,” she said. “I relinquish it to whomever it rightfully belongs!”
“My key!” Thomas murmured. “Where did you find my key?”
The color drained from Helsa’s face. She looked to her uncle and then her brother.
“My good man,” Levi said a bit testily, “this key has always been in Lady Helsa’s keeping. How can you now claim it?”
“Does it not have raised letters spelling the word FAITH upon its handle?” Thomas asked.
Seagood snatched the key from his sister’s trembling hand and examined it carefully. His eyes rounded with wonder. “But how could you have known?”
A penetrating light shone in Thomas’s eyes as he spoke. “It was given to me in my darkest hours,” he said quietly, looking past everyone in the room. It seemed he was looking at a place no one else could see. “It shed light upon my path and gave me comfort in my moments of greatest need. Though it has marked me forever, it is more precious to me than life itself, for it is indeed the key to the kingdom. Not your kingdom or mine, but the kingdom of heaven. All who believe and cling to faith are heirs of our heavenly Father. Come, place the key in my hand, and see if it does not match my scar.”
Everyone drew near. Seagood reluctantly placed the key in Thomas’s outstretched hand. There, burned into his flesh, were scars now healed. Plain to all were the letters FAITH and the shape of a key. The two were identical.
CHAPTER 32
Evil Spreads
“Mandra, we must go. We can stay no longer.” His wife’s voice was pleading and persistent.
“Dearest, it seems foolish to leave our home because of a dream,” Mandra protested.
“Not just once have I dreamed this dream,” his wife responded. “I have dreamed these things often, but last night it became urgent.”
Mandra sighed and scratched his grizzly chin. It would mean a lot of work, but if they could save the flock … “All right,” he agreed. “You get the supplies we’ll need for several days. We can hide in the wilderness.”
His wife shook her head. “Not just a few days. We must go for a long time.”
“All right,” he sighed. “Just remember, we have to carry everything we take.”
They had been careful, but their supplies were nearly gone. Mandra finally convinced his wife he could return to their home, get supplies, and come back.
The moon was a thin crescent on the horizon when he slipped over the last ridge separating him from his home. He stopped short. In the pale light he could see a large company of mounted riders in his courtyard. His home was being invaded.
So, her dream came true, Mandra thought. He should have turned and fled, but he wondered who the villains were. Slipping closer, he peered over the ridge into his courtyard below. He could hear the distinct speech of Endor. These were Jabin’s men. He watched as they broke his corrals to kindling and set them on fire. The door to his house had been ripped from its hinges and hurled onto the fire. Everything he and his wife valued was being destroyed by these senseless vandals.
“Curses,” he whispered. Silently he backed away from the ledge. He’d seen all he could stand. Turning, he bumped into something solid, and strong hands seized him. He could not see his captors clearly in the dim light, but their crimson cloaks told the story. He was in Jabin’s hands now.
A disheveled woman raced through the gates of Gray Haven when they opened at dawn, and guards had been forced to restrain her. Her clothes were tattered, and she spoke rapidly in a strange foreign language. Not knowing what to do with the woman, the guards brought her to the throne room where Thomas, Hesketh, Helsa, and Levi had gathered. The woman fell before the lords and lady, speaking nonstop, but no one could understand her.
Seagood stepped forward. “Who are you, good woman, and how may we help you?”
The woman rose to her knees and pleaded with the group, but still they could not understand what she said. “Will someone bring Wart in here?” Seagood asked.
When Wart joined the group, he recognized the old woman immediately and greeted her in her own language. “Hello! Where is your husband?”
The old woman turned to Wart and began to speak very rapidly. Wart nodded and then began to scowl. Turing to Seagood and the others, he said, “This is Mandra’s wife, and she says Mandra has not returned.”
Thomas, Seagood, and Helsa all leaped from their seats and rushed to the old woman. It was indeed her, but grief had so altered her features that they had not recognized her.
“Not returned?” Seagood questioned. “Find out more, Wart.”
The old woman babbled on for some time before Wart again turned to the others. “It seems Mandra has disappeared. He was taken by Jabin’s riders. At least, that is what his wife believes.”
“Jabin’s riders.” Seagood’s hand gripped the hilt of his sword.
The old woman nodded furiously and said, “Evil crosses river.”
They might not have understood her words, but they grasped her meaning, and their faces grew pale.
In the safety of Gray Haven’s throne room, multiple plans had been tossed about to rescue Mandra, Stanley, and the other believers held in Jabin’s prisons. “This is madness!” Levi stormed. “If you had ten thousand men, you could not throw down Endor’s gates. Yet you want twelve people to free Mandra from Jabin’s grasp.”
“It is not by might or by power, but by God’s Spirit that men and women will be set free,” Thomas stated quietly. “Endor will fall without shooting one arrow over its walls.”
“Look,” Hesketh said sharply, “either let me take an army, or let me go alone. Mandra came to my aid, and I will come to his.”
“I have even greater reason to be in his debt,” Thomas countered.
“May I go too?” The voice startled the men, and they saw that Helsa had returned from settling Mandra’s wife into her new quarters. “I too stayed in their home.”
“Sister,” Hesketh began, “you cannot go. This trip will be far too dangerous. It could turn into war.”
“It is not yet time for war,” Thomas insisted. “If we wage war openly, all the slaves of Endor might be slain or hurled unwillingly against us in battle. There is another way.”
CHAPTER 33
The Doors of Endor Open
From the highest tower in Endor, Maria watched as new slaves were marched across the courtyard. Most slaves were sullen or listless, their heads drooping nearly to their chests, but not these. These men marched across the square, heads held high, almost in defiance of the chains they wore.
She would have to speak with Samoth about such behavior. She liked to see spirit, but she would not tolerate defiance.
Turning from the window, she passed into her sewing room. Her new gown was still in progress: a daring, full-length dress made of nothing but lace. Open as low in the front as it was in the back, it would be stunning, for it enhanced all her graceful curves. Maybe, she thought, I’ll interview the new slaves in this gown when it’s ready.
The thought of those proud men growing weak at the sight of her made her tremble all over.
Conditions had changed dramatically in the dungeon since Thomas had first come to Endor. With Stanley acting as chief advisor to Melzar, prisoners were now interviewed and assessed upon their arrival. Then, depending on their abilities and attitudes, they were assigned either to supervised duties or confinement. Melzar was concluding one such interview with a prisoner who had recently been brought to Endor.
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