Ethan blinked again, trying to remember. “The Order…Gideon. Where is he?”
Levi looked puzzled. “We assumed he must be somewhere here in the castle with you.”
“We got separated after the explosions hit the castle. We’ve got to find him.”
“Impossible now,” Seth said, standing to his feet. He helped Levi get Ethan up on his feet.
“Look, Seth, we can’t leave Gideon here,” Ethan said.
Seth moved closer so that he stared blankly at Ethan’s face. “Deliverer, I know I speak for Gideon when I say, we must not risk your safety any further. General Rommil will enter the castle soon, and we’re going to have a tough time getting out of here as it is. Now, we must go.”
Ethan stood still, refusing to budge. “What makes you think you can speak for my friend?”
Seth stopped. “Because he was my friend long before he was yours. Now, act like a priest of Shaddai and do what is necessary and not what you feel.” He took off down the dark corridor toward the inner parts of the castle.
Levi squeezed Ethan’s shoulder. “As much as it pains me to say it, lad, he’s right. Let’s go.”
He had to tear the young man from his spot, but Ethan gave in and followed them down the hallway. Levi called up ahead to the blind priest leading their way. “Where are we going, Seth?”
In the darkness, Levi ran right up on three of King Nichol’s soldiers. They spun around, two carrying torches, another holding a sword. Their clothes were tattered and stained with blood, probably their own. They spotted Ethan and reacted.
“The Deliverer!”
As Ethan came up behind the Levi, the soldier with the sword lunged at the boy. Ethan didn’t have time to react. Seth appeared from the shadows blocking the strike at the soldier’s wrists. His left foot snapped up to make contact with the man’s chin, chest, and groin in turn. Within a fraction of a second, the blind priest held the sword, while the soldier lay in a heap on the floor with his companions watching in astonishment.
“Rommil has turned on you, gentlemen,” Seth said to the soldiers. “I would suggest you use the strength you have left to flee this castle with your lives.”
The two soldiers took a moment to gauge the situation-three against two. They shrugged at one another, turned, and ran back the way they had come.
“Where are we going to go, Seth?” Ethan asked, looking around.
Seth turned and ran through an archway hidden in the shadows. “The dungeon.”
DUNGEON MASTER
Jericho only half noticed the advance of General Rommil’s troops down the hillside, through the trees beyond, and into the pocked castle courtyard. His focus remained on Ethan and the promotion of fear. The soldiers advanced without any resistance whatsoever. After all, King Nichols had been under his command in reestablishing his throne and the invitation to the priests of Shaddai.
Jericho constructed the elements around the boy to encourage panic. Through the spiritual plane, he conjured visions and voices to haunt the boy. He promoted the rush of adrenaline and the myriad chemical components of a take-flight-response to what the boy was experiencing.
Jericho felt his racing pulse, his labored erratic breathing, and the sweat pouring from his pores. I have you, Deliverer!
Overwhelming light severed him from the darkness. An ethereal blade lashed out at him from a towering figure that materialized before him. Jericho instantly abandoned his hold on the boy to save himself from the sudden onslaught. The angel rushed his retreat and overtook him with a thunderous blow to the face.
Jericho reeled. Smoke rose from the white-hot wound left by the angel’s fist. He flew at his attacker, grappled with him, and then stammered back again. “Let me pass!”
The angel said nothing.
Jericho shot over the angel, but was quickly intercepted and cast down. He tried to reach the boy through his connection. Nothing.
“How? Why? What is the meaning of this interference in mortal affairs?” Jericho demanded.
The angel cocked one eyebrow with curious satisfaction and then spoke. “Prayer.”
Jericho screamed like an animal, then flew at the angel with his sword in hand. Thunder sounded as their blades smashed together in combat. Jericho wailed on his opponent repeatedly, but ultimately the angel proved too powerful.
He sidestepped an attack and caught Jericho full force with his heavenly sword. Jericho floundered backward to the ground, realizing his predicament. “No! Not now!”
His spiritual body began to dissolve while the angel watched. The angel disappeared with a smile on his face, leaving Jericho to disintegrate. The demon watched as the mortal plane, the castle, and the Deliverer faded from his vision. He would have to wait to find him again.
Seth led Ethan and Levi down into the depths of King Nichol’s castle. Levi carried their torch and a sword recovered from the unconscious soldier. He brought up the rear as they descended the stone steps of a long spiraling staircase.
“If you don’t mind my asking,” Levi said, “why exactly are we going into the dungeon?”
Seth’s voice echoed back from the darkness ahead. “With General Rommil’s forces invading the castle we’ll need a secure way out.”
“There’s a secure way down here?” Ethan asked.
Seth hesitated to respond. “There is a way.”
When they had reached the bottom level, a cylindrical chamber opened up before them. Racks of old weapons lined the wall all the way around. Levi started toward something that caught his fancy. “I could do with one of those.”
Seth caught him by the shirt as he tipped forward almost falling into a great pit in the middle of the floor.
“Whoa!” Levi cried as his torch revealed his error. Seth pulled him back. Levi patted the priest on the shoulder. “Thanks, lad. I owe you one.”
“One?”
Levi ignored the remark. “Where do we go now? Don’t tell me that hole is our way out of here.”
Seth grabbed two swords from a nearby rack and placed them through the grime encrusted sash around his waist. “Okay, Captain, I won’t tell you.” He clicked his tongue, then leaped out over the pit. Ethan and Levi watched horrified, until they saw him catch hold of a chain extending up out of the pit where it attached to a pulley system anchored to the roof.
Seth dangled there, waiting for the others. “You’ll both need weapons, gentlemen.”
“How in the world did you do that? Your blind…I couldn’t even see that chain,” Ethan said.
“You’d be surprised how well your other senses develop when you don’t have your sight,” Seth said. “echoing sound, like a click of the tongue or even a whisper, works well to give me a picture of things your eyes can’t even see.”
Ethan was now even more impressed with the ingenuity of Shaddai’s priests.
“What’s in the hole?” Levi asked as he pulled a large cutlass from one of the racks.
“The dungeon is down there and our way out.”
“But I’ve heard no one has ever escaped the dungeon at Macedon’s castle,” Levi said.
“One person did.”
“How do you know?” Ethan asked.
“Because I’m that person. Now we must hurry before-”
Torch light filled the stairwell, reflected off of the stone walls.
Seth loosened his grip and slid down the chain into the darkness of the pit. “Come on! We must hurry!”
Ethan ran to one of the weapons racks. “Go, Levi! I’ve got to get a sword!”
Bonifast jumped across the pit grabbing the chain which was still taut with Seth’s weight below him. “I don’t
