by James Somers
The great Man-o-war airship landed with a groaning smack against the pavement stones. Ethan watched as the King’s guard gathered around the ship as it rocked back and forth, wobbling on the keel. Despite the modifications Mordred’s people had made in the design, it still appeared to be meant for a water landing.
Levi threw over a rope ladder lashed to the rail and shimmied down quickly, ignoring the presence of the soldiers for the more urgent matter at hand. “You men, there, go and get something to brace the ship. Quickly! Don’t stand there gawking at me! Go before the balloons deflate and allow her to roll onto her side!”
The soldiers, looking quite confused, broke up to go and do as he’d bidden them. The majority of the soldiers remained, however. King Stephen was among them, watching Levi. He approached the Captain, but Ethan noticed that the man didn’t have the same demeanor about him as before.
Stephen actually smiled as he came upon Levi, still in action trying to get the ship properly settled. Ethan passed through the spiritual plane, appearing next to Levi while Kline and Devon climbed over the side as the Captain had done.
Ethan wondered if his presence with Levi might change the King’s expression, but though Stephen looked thoughtful when he saw him, he continued to smile. “Captain Bonifast, once again you prove to me that your loyalties are as solid as ever,” Stephen said.
He shook Levi’s hand vigorously. “I couldn’t have done it without Ethan, Your Majesty,” Levi said, indicating him with a pointed finger resting on the boy’s chest.
King Stephen looked at Ethan, even bowing his head slightly. “Yes, of course. My apologies, young man. I realize now that my earlier fears were far too hasty on your behalf.”
Ethan wasn’t quite sure how to take the drastic change in the king, but was glad for it nonetheless. “Not a problem, Your Majesty,” Ethan said. “I only hope our efforts were enough.”
“Aye, I saw a massive dust cloud to the north as the attack began,” Levi said. “Despite this victory, I fear we’ve only seen a glimpse of what awaits us when Mordred arrives.”
“And it can’t be far off now,” Ethan said. “Those Man-o-wars have given Mordred’s army time if nothing else.”
The king nodded solemnly. “Well, I suppose all we can do now is do our best and hope for the same. Come with me gentlemen and we’ll go over our planned defense.”
Levi and Ethan, with Kline and Devon strode after King Stephen and his entourage heading inside the palace. For the most part, the palace remained in good order. The Man-o-wars had hardly made it so far into the city before the counter attack had begun. The city of Evelah smoldered as buildings continued to burn and lives lay broken in the streets. And the worst was still yet to come.
SEIGE
Gideon rode his horse as hard as the animal would go, trying to remain ahead of Mordred’s army on the way to Evelah. He had diverted from the main road almost a mile away so that he could round the wall through the bordering forest and come into the city through The Order’s secret tunnel. Coming back into the city, he couldn’t believe the damage he found.
Before him, in the street, lay one of the huge Man-o-war battleships he had witnessed rising out of the Azure Sea earlier in the day. The massive balloons which had been rigged from their sail cloth appeared to have been burned away somehow.
As Gideon scanned the city before him, he saw multiple fires with plumes of gray smoke rising into the approaching twilight. He could see more airships in similar states of destruction lying throughout the area where he was. Some had landed in the streets, while others had fallen upon houses and other buildings in Evelah, collapsing them under their weight.
He wasn’t sure how, but King Stephen had evidently been ready with some plan when the strange ships arrived. The only activity he could spot at the moment was families trying to search the rubble for loved ones and the wounded crying in the street.
The army would begin their assault upon the wall in less than an hour. He had to find some way to fight without being recognized. Gideon realized he was still wearing the armor of Wayland’s King. Now all he needed was a helmet to match, then no one would know who he was. As night began to fall, he went through the debris filled streets in search of a fallen soldier from whom he might borrow a piece of anonymity.
After a briefing by King Stephen and his War Master, Ethan and Levi found themselves marching to the wall. This would be the inevitable first line of defense for the city. Every man able to wield a weapon had been conscripted into action. What remained of Evelah would have to fight for their lives tonight.
There was a full moon shining down brightly upon the city. Evelah still smoldered behind them all the way to the palace’s outer perimeter. In the event the wall was breached, the King would be escorted back to the palace by his special guard comprised of the priests in The Order here in Wayland. Now, they stood upon the wall, ready to fight along with the King himself.
Ethan had wondered about Stephen’s change in attitude before. By now he felt sure that the demonic oppression which had settled upon the monarch for so long had finally given way to his better nature. Stephen was outfitted in gleaming silver armor, a silver diadem and his sword. He would fight alongside his men for as long as possible.
Of what little he knew about the King of Wayland, this happened to be one of his greater qualities and one for which the people had loved him for so long. As rumors went, this one happened to be true. Just as he had fought so hard at Emmanuel City a year ago, tonight he would fight again.
When they had realized where the King wanted him and Levi to be stationed, they had sent back word to the Temple, hoping to persuade Seth to remain there with Isaiah while the other priests from the Nodian Order came to fight. Seth had decided the frontline was his place and stood nearby, trying to echolocate through the dense fog lying at the perimeter of the forest.
Many of the soldiers upon the wall, civilians only inducted into the service this day, shook visibly with fright as their king called out across the wall for them to show no fear in the face of the enemy. Already they had been privy to the drumming cadence of the enemy’s march. Out in the foggy night, it sounded like thousands approaching to seal Evelah’s doom.
Slowly the marching thrum grew closer. Ethan waited among those upon the wall. He wondered when it would be the right time to shift into the spiritual realm and attack. But a horde of demons had been among those with Mordred on his ships and there was no reason to suppose they hadn’t come with him now. His own tingling flesh told him it was true. They were great in number and despite the power Shaddai had given unto him, he remained only one.
Ethan whispered a prayer for the protection of these people and for personal guidance during the battle. He wanted to be led by the Lord completely. Otherwise this battle would not go well. It might end badly at any rate, but if he followed Shaddai’s leadership he would come through closer to the fulfillment of the prophecy.
Ethan kept that one thought at the forefront of his mind. A prophecy had been made and a prophecy must be fulfilled. He had no idea how it might come about, only that it would, in some way, be completed as it should. That one thought comforted him now as the drumming of feet in the dark grew louder and closer.
Mordred might indeed sack Wayland’s capital today. He might kill the King. He might manage, even, to take all of Wayland, but the time would come when destruction would come down upon him from on high. A smile spread across his face, until he thought about those he might lose in the process.
His friends might be killed tonight. And what about Gideon? Where was he in all of this? His mind wandered back to the night before when he had faced the man upon the palace wall. Gideon had spared him despite his threats to the contrary. Where was he at this moment and what was he doing? Had he run from the city, back to Mordred to receive new instructions, or was he lurking among Evelah’s ruins waiting for another opportunity to strike at him?
There was one thing Ethan was certain of. This was no time to
ponder the possibilities. A great battle lay before them all now. Whatever the future held for any of them Shaddai was still in control.
Gideon stood upon the wall surrounding Evelah. He stood anonymous among several thousand of the King’s soldiers spread out along the northern portion of the great wall. It was broad enough at the top so that two wagons could drive its length side by side. Now, with so many men atop it, the wall seemed crowded and stiflingly so.
He had found a helmet, as expected, lying in the street near a fallen soldier of Wayland. It wasn’t exactly a match for the uniform he’d taken from the guard outpost, but considering the cobble of uniforms he saw on the newly conscripted citizens here on the wall, he doubted that it mattered. No one was looking for him. All that anyone in Evelah cared about at the moment was the steady march of the approaching army.
Everyone remained silent as their heavy steps echoed out of the mist-shrouded darkness. The torches upon the wall could not penetrate the fog. Gideon closed his eyes to pray. The breathing of the anxious men filled his ears. They weren’t saying it, but they were all scared to death. There was good reason to be. The army that Gideon had seen massing on Wayland’s northern shore had been unlike any he’d ever seen assembled.
Gideon prayed.
As he opened his eyes again, he realized the steady thrum of the march had stopped. He could sense them out just beyond sight—the heavy mist shielding them from thousands of fearful, watching eyes. The trees that bordered the city may have been beautiful on a spring day, but they were a curse now. The enemy stood among them hidden.
A lone cry came up out of the darkness then. One voice calling out to King Stephen himself. Gideon immediately recognized the man. If there had been any doubt before, now he was sure. Mordred had indeed come along to lead this campaign.
“Stephen!” Mordred cried. “I’ve come for you, Stephen! With an army beyond your imagination! Surrender now. Have these cowards lay down their arms and I might show you some mercy.”
From a hundred yards down the wall, Gideon heard the King’s reply. “We are no cowards, Mordred!” Stephen said. “We will never surrender Evelah to you!”
Laughter resounded from Mordred and his army after him. When it had died down, he said, “Dear Stephen, I was so hoping you would say that!”
Gideon heard something building then in the darkness…footsteps…giant footsteps.
Out of the fog, coming directly down the main road to the heavy iron gate of the city, came a host of the giants that Gideon had seen upon the northern shore. They ran in two long lines, each pushing one side of a massive, rolling battering ram. It appeared to have been fashioned from a huge tree and was still several hundred feet long. At the head of it a heavy, spiked iron ball, much like a mace, had been added. Along its sides, long metal spikes had been driven straight through the trunk so that nearly fifty giants could push it.
With a number of wheels bearing its weight, the full force of the giant’s combined strength could be utilized in the ramming. Gideon thought about the gate. It consisted of a heavy iron meshwork which drove into metal slots in the ground. Beyond that stood two massive wooden doors reinforced with steel bands. It wouldn’t hold for very long against what he saw coming.
The order sounded from the King. “Fire!”
Archers, established along the length of the wall, fired their arrows at the approaching giants. These brutes had been outfitted with armor, but still some of the shots got through. Some of the giants faltered as they were struck repeatedly, but they did not stop.
Angry now, their pace only increased as they screamed in fury and planted the battering ram into the iron portcullis. The impact shook everyone on the wall within one hundred yards of the gate. The iron held, but had been dented significantly. “Fire again!” King Stephen screamed.
The archers, shaken and bewildered, leaned over the wall and took aim again. Gideon didn’t have a bow on him, only two swords. He leaned after the archers. Suddenly the man in front of him screamed and fell back onto Gideon. He had an arrow protruding from his sternum.
Gideon snatched the man’s bow and quiver as he eased him to the ground. He nocked two arrows as return fire took down more men around him. He leaned over the edge, sighted two enemy archers hiding among the trees and shot them out of the branches. These and many more were providing the cover fire necessary for the giants to back up with their battering ram in order to give it another run.
“The trees,” Gideon cried, hoping to warn the others nearby. He fired again. Another of them fell out of the branches. Meanwhile the giants had managed to get enough space between themselves and the gate. They surged forward again with the ram. The king’s archers tried to fire on them again, but the enemy provided cover fire on a grander scale.
The giants hit the gate again. It buckled and gave way. The portcullis fell under the ram as it smashed through and hit the wooden double doors. The blow had been almost fully absorbed on the portcullis and went no further. The king, realizing the imminent breach, ordered his men down from the wall. “Hurry, before they break through! Meet them at arms!”
BREACH!
Levi grabbed the torch from the mount upon the wall and rushed for the stone staircase leading down. “Let me through!” he shouted as he pushed through bowmen trying to reach the wall at the King’s command. Levi ran down the stairs and hit the ground running. He quickly found the fuse he’d left in place.
The torch set the fuse cord alight. It hissed and bounced around like a wounded snake as the flame ran across the ground toward Levi’s buried payload beyond the wall. The giants had crashed into the wall twice now and were backing up for another go. Levi could see the cracks in the wooden doors. It wouldn’t last much longer.
The fire ran under the space beneath the doors and beyond the ruined portcullis. The giants retreated a full fifty yards with their battering ram intending to make this run at the gate their last. The fire ran toward them as they surged toward the gate. About thirty five yards from the ruined gate the fire met the giants and their battering ram. It ran underground just as they lumbered by.
The ground heaved upward underneath them. Fire erupted out of the ground behind the plume of earth. The great tree the giants had been using as a battering ram shattered in flame. The Anakim’s bodies filled the trees around the main road. On the wall, after the initial shock, King Stephen and his men cheered.
Gideon had barely noticed the fire bouncing down the road before the explosion. His ears were still ringing. He didn’t know who had rigged the charge until he looked down on their side of the gate and saw Levi Bonifast whooping and cheering at his triumph.
Gideon stood up to the wall again. He was covered in dust and ash from the blast. Nearly everyone on the wall had been bathed in dry earth. Gideon surveyed the damage. Stephen’s soldiers returned to their posts only to be cut down as a massive hail of arrows arced from the trees to the wall.
Bodies fell around him. Gideon nocked arrows as fast as he could, firing on everything that moved in the darkness. More giants swarmed out of the darkness with hybrids following. They came down the main road as their archers increased their cover fire.
Two of the giants pulled the smashed portcullis out of the way as the rest heaved smaller ten man battering rams of iron into the door. The King’s soldiers swarmed down from the wall with their swords drawn. Gideon drew his swords and ran down the wall toward the main gate. So many bodies lay on the wall. The way had been all but cleared by those abandoning their posts here for lower ground and the fight coming through the gate any moment.
Gideon noticed the King already down from the wall by now. His personal guard were ushering him back toward the palace. The giants burst through the doors, smashing them to the side on their ruined hinges.
Immediately the Anakims surged through the breach and began to cut down men three at a time with great broadswords made for their size. Gideon leaped away from the wall. He landed on the shoulders of one of the giants using his momen
tum to ram both of his swords through the man’s clavicles. The giant lurched, stumbled, and fell.
Gideon leaped into the fray with the other giants as the king’s soldiers tried desperately to keep them at bay. Somewhere in the battle he heard Levi Bonifast, but he couldn’t be sure where. The streets inside the wall had turned to pure chaos now.
Hybrids and giants swarmed through the streets. Behind them, Gideon saw Wraith Riders charging through on horseback, making their way for the palace in the distance. By now he’d been swept far from where he had entered the battle. It was difficult to tell where Mordred might be among the horsemen and Gideon had no way to reach him now.
He slashed at every enemy he could take on. His twin swords dripped with gore as he found his next victim. The giants weren’t so difficult for him. Avoiding their powerful strikes was the real danger. They could knock even a guarded man off his feet with one blow.
Gideon found another Anakim, dodged his strike—the giant’s heavy blade smashing into the cobble stone street. In close, Gideon slammed his sword through the giant’s ribs, through his right lung and into his heart. He rolled out just as the Anakim faltered and fell over where Gideon had been crouched.
He turned on the next foe, a hybrid, decapitated the beast and went on. Another hybrid jumped him from behind as the other fell. Gideon shot out his foot to the rear, smashed the creature under the chin in the trachea and then whirled with his blade to slice across its belly. As its life spilled out, the priest moved on to the next and the next.