City Appointed_Winning a City for God

by Michael Burrows

  ‘Those are enemy flags,’ thought Samantha, ‘Claiming Grace Falls as theirs, no doubt.’

  The bridge looked like it belonged to a grand entrance of a castle. Samantha imagined that it had carried many horses and knights across it over the centuries. Warriors returning after epic battles, seeking an audience with great kings to claim their reward, would have set foot upon it.

  ‘And demons too!’ she thought with disgust. The presence of them contaminated the scene that she was imagining.

  In the centre of the bridge was the throne, set in stone. As Trinity looked at the throne, she saw a large, obese demon upon it. This creature was the one whom they had been sent to eradicate. It sat in a slouched position with an oversized crown on its head, unsuited to the royal surroundings that it inhabited.

  “There’s our target,” called Seraph as he pointed towards the one on the throne. “We must destroy it, and then the hordes will disperse. The lifeline of demons is a fragile thread. Once the thread gets severed, they lose all power. The basis of their strength is lies, delusions, and deception.” Seraph continued, “Truth is a rock which stands firm forever. When truth confronts a lie, the lie is exposed, and the thread gets cut. So once we destroy that which sits on the throne, all the other demons connected to it will lose their power and will be dispersed, back to where they came from to get reassigned.”

  “Though, if we happen to take some demons out on our way to the throne...” said Trillion with a smile, “they fade out of this realm and find themselves in the abyss.”

  “The more the better I say,” said Trinity.

  “We must be careful, we have nearly reached the goal of our mission,” said Seraph, “One of you must kill the demon on the throne because it is you who carry faith. Trillion and I will charge first and make a path for you. You will follow us closely behind. Then use whatever you find in your hands to assault the throne, and destroy that demon.”

  “What happens if you get hit? What happens if we get shot or sliced?” Samantha asked anxiously, trying to keep her nerves at bay.

  “If one of us gets hit, we return to the Lord and are reassigned. If you get hit you drop out of this realm, and we fail the assignment. Hold your faith. Do not worry. Come, let us go!”

  The two angels swooped down, both holding swords in each hand. The girls did not reach for weapons because their wings followed their arm movements and they needed to maintain their flight path towards the throne. As they got closer to the hordes, the scene below became more chaotic. The cacophony of noise coming from the multitude arguing, hissing and spitting would help to conceal any alert that a demon may want to make. As the four glided towards the bridge and the throne below, several demons looked up and screeched. The masses didn’t take notice because of the chaos around them. But some nearby turned and looked upward in disgust and rose into the sky from the ranks with swords and shields at the ready. Trillion and Seraph wielded their swords as arrows shot towards them. Trillion slashed through two arrows as they flew past his left side. The girls were close now. The activity below them became more and more intense. Other demons rose to defend their leader. The girls were nearly at the bridge when a stray arrow pierced Trinity’s wing. She fell. As she hit the ground, she rolled to break her fall and manoeuvred herself into a standing position. Samantha also touched down as a blade slashed through one of her wings. The wings crumbled away, and the girls were free to draw weapons and run. They raced towards the throne, slashing and cutting their way through the ranks. Other demons were closing in, almost upon them. Suddenly two beams of spinning laser light flashed past them, destroying a dozen demons who were closest to them, creating a path to run through. Liberty’s prayer had struck its mark. The faith of Samantha and Trinity soared.

  An enemy landed just in front of Samantha. Without breaking her stride she flung one of her swords at the demon, but it raised its blade and fended off the attack, sending the sword flying away into the army. Samantha prepared herself for a close-range encounter. The demon got agitated as she advanced. Her faith continued to rise, overpowering her enemy. As she came within range, she struck the blade from its hand and brought her sword down on her enemy, with supernatural force, splitting it in half.

  The angels landed on either side of the girls, swords blazing. More demons were alerted. Trinity and Samantha stepped up onto the bridge, focused on the task ahead. Sensing their presence the enthroned demon turned its head and glared at them with rage in its eyes. The beast lifted its heavy arm, suspended it in the air for a moment then slammed its hand on the armrest. As it did, a shockwave went out from the throne and knocked the girls off their feet sending them flying off the bridge. They hit the ground hard and slid along the gravel. Samantha raised her head off the dirt, physically shaken from the impact. All she could hear was ringing in her ears. Her vision was blurry, and she couldn’t think straight. Demons were lying beside her. ‘They also must have been taken out by the blast,’ she thought. Lifting her head higher, she looked through her matted hair and saw more demons advancing on them. Her body throbbed. She hardly had the strength to lift herself up.

  “We’re not going to make it,” shouted Samantha, “God, help!”

  32.

  Bridge

  (Mission Liberty)

  Falcon pulled Liberty into a side room just in time as the darkness blew past her, blasting a slimy portal of blackness through the wall. He slammed the door shut and whacked down a bar to lock the door in place.

  “He is already here. Our time is short,” said Falcon.

  “Who is here?” questioned Liberty.

  “The one who suffered defeat at the cross. You must retrieve the keys that you handed over and then get them to the altar, but I fear that we may have lost now that they are securely in the enemy’s hands,” said Falcon.

  Liberty reached into her sash, “You mean these keys?” she said as she lifted the keys of the city into view.

  Falcon’s expression was one of relief and wonder, “But how?”

  “I just took a couple of extra ones that I liked the look of and handed those keys over instead of these. I knew that I must fulfil this mission myself.”

  “Good girl,” he said extremely relieved. Falcon was impressed by the presence of mind that the human girl had displayed to handover fake keys. “This is why God chose you. Now go, I must stay here and face whatever may come.” Falcon reached out and adjusted Liberty’s locator. He set it to the location of the altar.

  “You must return these keys to Mission Altar, located in the heart of the city, deep underground. If by the time you lock the keys into place, the throne is secure and the Elemental Stone is free, the return of the keys will, at that moment, free the city.”

  “Continue along this walkway. After you have gone on for about half a mile, you will open out into another chamber. You will see some stairs that go down to your right into darkness. Do not be afraid, but have your sword ready. At the bottom of the stairs on the opposite wall, there will be a lever that you will need to pull all the way down to its furthest extent, which will extend a bridge out over the expanse towards the inner sanctuary. You will then be able to walk through the inner sanctuary to the altar in the centre. I would like to be there with you, but you must do this alone. Move quickly; you have little time.”

  The urgency of the moment escalated as the door that Falcon had locked started to rumble and shake. It began to glow red hot and looked as though it would give way at any moment. Liberty nodded to Falcon, then dashed off along the tunnel. Behind her, she heard an explosion and her heart skipped a beat, but she didn’t turn around, knowing that she had to keep moving forward. A passage of scripture flashed across her mind about Lot’s wife becoming a pillar of salt.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not looking!” she called out, raising her gaze heavenward for a moment as she ran.

  The walkway was narrow which was comforting because it limited the possibility of an enemy attack to only in front of her or behind her. ‘Surel
y they know I’m here,’ she thought. ‘How much further? I must be nearly to the first chamber by now,’ recalling her track & field days. As she ran, an unpleasant aroma filled the air, almost causing her to gag. Then all of a sudden a tall skinny creature stepped out in front of her and blocked her path. Liberty recognized the hideous creature from the beginning of her journey. It was the one from Grolg’s Ravine who had flown it to check on the others.

  “It’s you,” the creature hissed as it stepped out from an opening in the corridor. “I’ve been looking for you!”

  Liberty felt her heart beat rapidly increasing, then heard a quiet calm voice in her spirit, “I’ve not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. Have strength, my child.” Power rose up inside of her, and she reached for the small knife strapped to her thigh.

  ‘I walk by faith,’ she said to herself, ‘If God is for me, who can be against me.’ Liberty was grateful that she knew her scripture. She controlled her breathing and stood up straight, challenging the creature. Her confidence surprised the demon who expected her to cower in fear. This demon only traded in fear and pride; it did not know how to handle faith. It possessed no weapon that could stand against the faith of a true believer. Liberty started to walk towards it. Her face was resolute, staring down the demon. She picked up speed and broke into a run towards it. The creature’s face started to twitch, it already knew it had lost, even before Liberty’s knife pierced its skin. The creature dropped to its knees, stunned that the faith of a mere girl had stripped him of power. Liberty threw her knife which hit its mark and stuck fast between its ribs. As she ran past, she drew back her fist gave it a blow to the head. The demon was knocked over and hit the floor as Liberty continued along the corridor without slowing down.

  She came out into the expanse and saw the stairs down to her right. With sword drawn, she quickly stepped down into thick darkness. The stairs continued to go deeper and deeper into the heart of the earth. On her right was a rocky wall that she could place her hand on to steady herself as she quickly descended. A gentle breeze blew through the open expanse to her left. She could see nothing, but in the midst of the darkness she heard sounds, murmurings, and echoes, but she remained focused. Down and down she went for minutes and minutes.

  She stumbled as she stomped her foot on the ground, expecting to drop down to another stair. At last, she had made it to the deepest level. All was darkness, so she decided to use her locator light on her wrist. The gentle glow was enough for her eyes to adjust. Just in front of her was the lever on the wall that Falcon had mentioned. She reached out her hand to pull it down. In response, a sliding sound of grinding stone could be heard rumbling through the darkness. A bridge slowly slid out to the left of her. She crouched down, waiting for it to extend the whole way over the expanse. It took extra time that she didn’t feel she had. Impatiently she looked around, to see if she could detect any danger. Murmurings still echoed around her, but she had no idea how far away the creatures were that were making the noises. The bridge continued to reach out over the chasm slowly. Finally, the bridge spanned the gap between her and a doorway on the far side. There was no time to waste; she just wanted this over.

  Just as she was about to step foot onto the bridge, a prompting caused her to stop and pray.

  “Lord, protect me, keep me safe and help me to do this.” As she did, renewed faith rose in her heart and the ‘shield of faith’ appeared strapped to her arm.

  “Go,” she told herself and made a run for it across the bridge and into the open expanse. All seemed to be going well until a whipping sounded through the air. She raised her shield as two arrows glanced off it. Another struck the bridge in front of her. Liberty stopped and crouched down, getting as much of her body behind the shield as possible. Her vitals were protected by the shield, but she couldn’t pull her boots in far enough to avoid a direct hit. An arrow penetrated her thick boot and the tip stuck into her foot just below her ankle. She let out a yell of pain and immediately yanked it out, throwing it off the edge of the bridge. Liberty scrunched her eyes and opened her mouth and a faint cry passed between her lips. She clutched her foot with tears rolling down her cheeks. There she was, suspended in the middle of an expanse on a narrow bridge with a boot moistening with her blood. ‘God it hurts! How many are there and where are they?’ Liberty was aware that only one side had protection at a time. Two more arrows came from her left. Liberty instinctively swung the shield over her back to the other side to block them, and they sheered off her shield.

  Liberty was stuck and hurting, she didn’t want to stand up and expose her body to more arrows. She waited. ‘God help me. What am I going to do?’ Liberty remained in a crouched position, feeling more and more helpless. Suddenly she felt the bridge jolt like a sharp earthquake had struck. The bridge then began to rumble, and she saw a piece of it break off and fall into the blackness below. Then another piece of the bridge broke free in front of her and dropped out of sight.

  “What’s happening?”

  “Go!” she felt God say to her. “Go now!”

  “I can’t. I can’t move!”

  Then, in a flash, by revelation, God showed her that this bridge was held together by faith. As she had waited, a gradual entrance of fear had been permitted by her and was slowly creeping through her heart and also through the structure of the bridge. Fear was growing through the rock beneath her like tree roots extending into the earth. As the dark fingers pushed their way through the bridge, it began to break up and become unstable.

  She picked herself up and continued to run with her foot screaming at her to stop, but she found that through gritted teeth she could keep moving. More arrows assailed her, but the shield was doing its job. Nearing the end of the bridge, she slung the shield over her back, now that the goal was in sight. Another two arrows hit the shield jolting her forward.

  “Nearly there!” she told herself, instinctively ducking as another arrow careered over her head.

  “Wow! That was close!”

  Liberty ran to the door, reached for the handle, pulled it open and dashed through in one quick movement slamming the door behind her. The slam echoed around her and then faded off to silence.

  33.

  Arrow

  (Mission Girls)

  Meanwhile, Layla had been grounded and remained on the ledge. Shar launched into the air to advance on their attackers. Layla continued to run past more windows. ‘I wonder if I should run back and get some more wings?’ she considered for a moment. Deciding that forward was better than backward, she continued along the ledge. More windows passed by with verses inscribed upon them. Just then a demon landed in front of her. She drew her bow and shot it through the chest. As it fell, Layla stepped over it and continued to move forward. More demons began to land on the path that Layla was on with their eyes trained on her. ‘Running out of options,’ she thought. Startled by the arrival of two more directly behind her, she turned and dived into a window, just catching the scripture reference as she flew through – Acts 8:39-40.

  She landed hard on a smooth, polished surface and slid along the floor. She quickly got up and spun around to face whatever may follow her. She waited a moment, but none pursued. She slowly turned to sweep the room with her gaze to see if there was anything useful. Again, the circular room was bare. The most interesting part of the room was the ceiling which had richly ornamented engravings of battle scenes, landscapes, and maps. In the centre was a dome that lit the room. As she studied the ceiling, she could see that all the engraving and patterns splayed out from the light in the centre. She found herself drawn to its glow. Layla walked into the middle of the room so that she stood directly under the dome and gazed up at it. The light did not hurt her eyes but brought into sharp focus some words inscribed on the stonework around it. As she read, she recognized the portion of scripture from Acts.

  ‘When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, bu
t went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and travelled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.’

  ‘Transported,’ said Layla to herself, ‘The Spirit took him away and placed him somewhere else.’ Then almost knowing what might happen next, she stood directly under the light and took half a step backward so that her feet stood shoulder length apart. As she reached out a hand, an arrow materialized between her fingers and thumb. Layla then raised her bow, set the arrow against the string and pulled back. The string touched her lips, and she closed one eye, poised to release.

  Samantha and Trinity looked up at the throne, feeling helpless, realizing that any moment they could drop out of the vision with their task uncompleted. They frantically glanced around looking for angels or anyone who would step in to help. As they turned to face the edge of the cliff about fifty metres away, next to the river’s edge, what looked like a person appeared right before their eyes. Mist that rose from the falls framed the silhouette of a strong feminine figure poised in a confident battle-stance. Could this person be the intervention of God that the girls right now so desperately needed? Trinity squinted her eyes and could just make out that the figure had a drawn bow pointed directly towards the throne.