Gideon looked back at Ethan. The boy met his gaze, but quickly averted his eyes to the ground.
Gideon sighed.
He snapped the reins and the horse sped him away toward one of the secret passes through the Thornhill Mountains which would bring him out close to Millertown.
Ethan watched him go, trying to ignore his wounded pride. Gideon was still his friend, but this odd behavior had him worried. Ethan helped Joseph and Micah finish loading the wagon, praying silently for Gideon’s safe arrival in Hopple as planned.
Sarah watched from the side of a nearby building as the Royal Emissary from Macedon entered his private coach, preparing to leave Millertown. The falcon had returned with a message from the Temple. The Order intended to send the Word out to Macedon within the next several months. There had been no indication, whatsoever, that priests from Shaddai were already en route.
Nightfall approached as the ranks of soldiers, accompanying the Emissary, prepared to escort the man home. Strange that they would leave at night, she thought.
A hand clasped around Sarah’s mouth, pulling her behind the building. She tried to scream as the dark figure in a cloak and hood pulled her close. However, as soon as the hood fell down, she almost screamed in exultation.
“Gideon!”
He shushed her with his finger as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you so much. What are you doing back so soon?”
“I’m on a mission to take the Word of the Shaddai to the Isle of Macedon.”
Sarah cast her gaze mournfully toward the ground. “What’s wrong?” Gideon asked.
“Gideon, you’ll be gone for months, trying to get to Macedon and back…if you make it back at all.” Tears began to stream down her face.
Gideon tipped her chin upward. “I’ve always come back. And after this mission, I’m sure Ethan will be capable of going on without me.”
“You mean you’ll leave The Order?”
Gideon smiled and took a deep breath. “Yes, I will leave The Order after this mission.”
Sarah had wanted to hear those words for so long. And she had hoped to hear them from Gideon before she shared her own news. “My love, I have something to tell you.”
Gideon looked into the eyes of his young bride, trying to discern what it was she might be about to tell him. Nothing could have prepared him for the actuality.
“I’m with child, Gideon.”
Gideon tried to breathe, but no air moved in or out of his body. “Did you say?”
Sarah stared into his eyes, watching him stammer for the first time since she’d come to know him. It’s quite enjoyable, seeing him this way, she thought.
“Yes, my love, you and I are going to have a baby.”
So many things happened to Gideon at that moment. His breathing labored, his palms became clammy, perspiration gathered on his upper lip and brow, his knees felt weak and his heart rate ran rapid. Not knowing what to say, he simply held his bride tightly. She returned the embrace, shedding joyous tears. Everything was going to be all right, finally.
They lingered in town only a moment longer. Gideon helped his bride onto his horse and then climbed up into the saddle behind her, being as gentle as he knew how. They rode slowly toward their home. They would celebrate there and enjoy each other’s company for one last time before he left for Hopple and the mission to Macedon-his final mission for The Order of Shaddai.
What had not been apparent to Sarah or Gideon, but which undoubtedly would have been clearly seen by his young apprentice, was the demon watching them as they stood by the building in the dimming light of dusk.HJJJ He watched them as they held one another. And he listened as they exchanged joyous information between husband and wife.
The demon did not know exactly where this man was going other than to Macedon. But it did realize who he was. The puzzling thing had been, the whereabouts of the priest’s companion, the boy. The demon had been assigned to watch for the Deliverer in Millertown, by Jericho himself, but only Gideon the priest had come.
Nevertheless, the implications of Gideon and Sarah’s conversation were not lost on the demon. He knew, as well as most, that priests of Shaddai were bound to The Order and did not marry. This was something new and interesting to see.
The demon followed the couple riding horseback to their home on the property owned by Sarah’s parents. He watched and listened more. Then he left the home during the night to find Lord Jericho and report the valuable information he had acquired.
HOPPLE
As expected, it took Ethan, Joseph, and Micah several weeks to get to the small fishing village of Hopple. Only five hundred people living in modest dwellings occupied the village, pulling their livelihood from the sea. Their location did have other advantages, however, as it provided a place for ships to make port with goods from Wayland and places north of Nod, if they happened not to be going to Emmanuel City.
For this reason, the harbor system, with its docks and loading trolleys, had actually expanded to become the largest thing in the village. When the seasons were right for fishing, the villagers made their primary living that way, but during off seasons the main work became mooring vessels, loading, unloading cargo, and playing host to seamen who came ashore to spend their wages.
Hopple might have become nearly as large as Tilley Town were it not for the fact that the weather was quite harsh during certain seasons and most people did not want to live in the region. The natives lived a comfortable but simple life, having all that they ever needed in quality without the desire of quantity.
There were caves eastward where people generally did not dwell because of the rough terrain and the presence of wolves. But this was of little consequence to priests of Shaddai. Ethan and the others had found a suitable cave in which to make camp and hide the chest containing the Word. Ethan had decided he would enter the village alone and try to find his shipping contact or Gideon or both.
Isaiah had told them that the man who owned the ship they would be sailing upon would find them. It made little sense to Ethan. But he trusted the High Priest and did not ask any more questions about it. Ethan even wondered if perhaps Isaiah had given Gideon more information about their contact, but with Gideon still traveling from Millertown, it mattered little right now.
Ethan understood well that The Order maintained a carefully crafted sense of mystery, with secret locations, hidden vaults, and death defying entryways and exits. The fact was, Isaiah had only known Ethan for five months. He did not expect to be told all there was to know about The Order. It was enough to know Gideon was the best The Order could offer and happened to be his mentor and partner in this expedition. Better to search for Gideon, if I’m to search for anyone at all, he thought.
Ethan had been careful to wear his commoner’s clothing on this journey, as had his fellow priests. This was no time for bold assertions of their priesthood. They had run across a number of patrols along their journey to Hopple from Millertown, but had managed to avoid them. Demons had been seen scouting for the patrols and spying out nearby villages. Ethan was glad for his special sight, more than ever.
Evidently Mordred was searching hard for him, even after all of these months since the battle with Jericho in the throne room. But by the Lord’s providence they and their precious cargo had remained undiscovered. Ethan only hoped Gideon’s foolhardy trip back to Millertown had not compromised the mission. And even more, he hoped to see his friend safe again.
Ethan left the chest of scrolls with Joseph and Micah inside the large cave they had found, while he walked the remaining several miles into the village proper. Ethan heard wolf calls on several occasions and once during the trip he had even realm shifted, hoping to avoid detection by a hungry pack on the hunt.
