As the dark spots cleared from Juan’s eyes, he saw the sword again without flame and admired its simple beauty. Small ornate designs were formed within the metal; one could say the pattern resembled the entire universe. Juan found himself staring at the blade, mesmerized. He was brought back by a hand on his shoulder and saw Diego.
“They’re gone,” Diego whispered.
At first Juan was not sure who Diego meant. Then, he looked down at where Antonio had lain. His body was gone. Juan looked around the field and saw that they were alone with Cherubim. The bodies of the Nephilim and the Men of Nod were also gone.
“Where’s Antonio’s body?” Juan challenged.
Cherubim stood calmly, unflinching. “Come with me.”
Juan balked at Cherubim’s unexpected answer. The anger he felt was replaced by confusion. He looked at Diego and Diego shrugged.
Cherubim turned and walked towards the gateway, not looking back to see if Juan was following. Then, Cherubim walked through the gateway and disappeared into the darkness beyond.
All looked to Juan for direction. They had been charged to protect the garden and now they hoped to learn more of that garden. Juan led them inside and found that Cherubim waited for them. “What you seek is inside.”
“What do we seek?”
“Did you not just ask me a question?”
“What do you mean? I asked about Antonio… wait, you mean Antonio is inside?”
Cherubim nodded, “As are the Men of Nod.”
“But how is that possible?” Juan asked. “I saw them die.”
“This is a place of life. I did not say they were the same. I merely said they were inside.”
Cherubim had their interest and attention. He led them down an endless path that ran deeper into the garden. After several hours, they stopped. “You will stay here tonight. In the morning, we will continue our journey. Tomorrow, many of your questions will be answered. You will see your old friends as well.”
Juan and his men discerned that a fire greeted them and above the fire, a suspended pot gave whiff of an aromatic stew. The aroma welcomed them and drained the battle-weariness from their spent bodies. They relaxed around the fire, eating and amusing themselves with stories told at the expense of others. Afterwards, they stretched out on the surrounding field of soft grass and watched the moon until they drifted to sleep.
The next morning, Juan found Diego asleep next to the coals of the previous evening’s fire. He was careful not to wake him, as were the rest of the men as they woke and joined Juan by the fire. Finally, as the sun grew over the horizon, Juan saw that Diego’s eyes were open.
“How are you?” Juan asked.
“How do I look?” Diego replied.
Juan looked at Diego for a moment before answering, “You look terrible.”
“That’s what warfare does, my friend. But I can tell you I don’t feel terrible. It was best sleep I’ve ever had.” He ate breakfast before asking the obvious question, “Has Cherubim come?”
“No, he has not.”
“He was waiting for me,” Diego said. “And he need wait no longer. I’m ready to continue.”
He rose and went to the stream to wash his face. When he returned, he saw Cherubim sitting next to Juan on a log near the fire.
Cherubim waited patiently as the men collected themselves and gathered around. Diego was the final man of the group to join Cherubim. “You are ready?” Cherubim asked.
Each man replied with, “Aye.”
Cherubim rose without further words and rejoined the path. The path had been dark as they walked the previous day but now sunlight lit the path. Finally, they reached the end of the forest into a clearing. In the center was a vast wooden hall.
“It’s here that I must leave you,” Cherubim said. “You will see me again when I’m required. You need only to summon me.” He turned and the seven men watched him walk away.
When they could see him no more, they turned back to the Great Hall. The doorway was twenty feet wide and thirty feet tall and the thick door was decorated with carved symbols and words. Some of the symbols and words they recognized but many were outlandish and looked unlike anything they had seen.
The carvings on the door were very ornate and they seemed to tell of the creation of the world. This story began at the bottom right hand corner of the door and moved to the left and then up. At the very top of the door, each of their names was carved.
“Should we knock?” Eduardo asked.
“I would venture to guess that we are expected,” Juan answered.
Diego stepped forward and pushed on the door. He did not know whether the heavy door would stand firm or if it would swing open. To his surprise, as he placed his hand on the door, his engraved name burned white. That white spread outward, slowly covering the door. Soon, the door itself was lit with the brilliant sallow light.
The men covered their eyes to shield them. After only a moment, the light was extinguished and the men opened their eyes to find that the door frame was empty. The door that had barred their way was no more and they peered into the large hole of the doorframe into the darkness beyond.
Juan led the way into the obscurity and as he placed his second foot onto the stone floor, the hall ignited in luminosity. The illumination surprised them and they instinctively placed their hands on their swords. They moved past the false alarm and walked deeper inside.
They saw that they were in a cavernous
