Levi nodded through his heavy breathing. 'Boy, the smell just gets worse,' he said with a big sigh. 'Let's move.'
The two of them ran back toward the palace. Levi grabbed a torch from a stand along the way, through the training fields, then turned. He ran back toward the lodges a few paces and heaved the torch. The flame arced through the air and came down on the roof of the first. Sparks leaped away, and fire ran across the roof line, devouring the black powder Ethan had left behind.
They both stood watching for a moment. 'I'm not sure that will do the job of igniting the other barrels, Ethan.'
Ethan realm shifted again and drew his spiritual sword. It shone with a heavenly light. He prayed for help, then suddenly found the sword drawing his arm back. He understood its intention, then flung it back toward the barrels Levi had placed at the entrance to each Anakim lodge.
The heavenly blade gathered momentum as it flew through the ether, spinning like a buzz saw. The light it emitted intensified so that it burned white hot. When it sailed through the first barrel, it ignited and exploded. The front of the first lodge shattered and crumbled. The explosion scattered its fire which ignited the roof of the second lodge.
The sword kept spinning and flew through the next barrel and the next until it had hit all of them. Each explosion destroyed the front of the lodge next to it and scattered more fire, igniting the stray powder left by Ethan. Within seconds, the entire set of Anakim lodges stood partially dilapidated and burning. The sword reappeared at Ethan's side as it had been before.
As Ethan materialized beside the wide-eyed Captain Bonifast, giants burst through the fiery walls of the lodges. They ran screaming out into the training yard with their clothes on fire. Some crashed through the walls, fell over, and didn't move again.
The resulting fire threatened the palace itself and lit up the entire training grounds. Alarm bells resounded from the palace and the city proper. Soldiers came running to stop the raging inferno.
Ethan started toward the wall on the north side. 'Let's go. Seth and Dung should have gotten to Gideon by now.'
Levi bolted after him, smiling as he watched the training yards burn.
DIGGING
Seth crawled down the dark tunnel behind Dung the rat. The smell of moist earth surrounded him. Dung had relayed to Ethan earlier how he and the smaller rodents had dug out the tunnel all the way to the stone floor. All that remained, in order to enter the dungeon, would be to give a good upward push on the floor stones.
Dung squeaked up ahead. Seth had learned to recognize some of his basic calls. He took this one to mean they had reached the end of the tunnel where it terminated beneath the dungeon. 'Let's go through, Dung.'
Dung squeaked an acknowledgment. Seth came up next to the large rodent's warm body. He felt Dung stretch upward, his powerful muscles tensing with the weight of the stones. Something gave way above, and Dung pushed through. Seth heard the stones roll away, then Dung climbed up through the hole.
Dung squeaked again, a call for Seth to follow him up. Seth complied and began to echolocate as soon as he popped up into the dungeon. He quickly imaged the chamber walls, ceiling, and floor, then crawled out with his senses alert for the sound of guards and the feel of body heat.
Seth heard the crackle of firelight ahead where a lone cell stood at the end of the long corridor. He bounced light clicks off of four guards on duty there. Seth had no ability to see light, but he had learned to gauge his distance by the heat or lack thereof long ago.
Seth placed a hand on Dung and pointed an open hand down the corridor at the guards. He released the rat and surged toward the guards with Dung on his heels. He used clicks to echolocate until he came within striking distance of the men. One turned on him just before he got there. 'Hey!' the guard said just as Seth reached and silenced him.
The others tried to scream, especially when they caught sight of Dung, but he and Seth moved too quickly. All four had been struck down within three seconds. Seth stopped and listened. No other sounds except for a light stir from inside the cell.
The smell of feces and blood hit him hard. What had they done to him? 'Gideon, are you conscious?' Seth whispered.
A low moan emanated from the dark recesses of the cell. 'We're going to get you out.' Dung began to chew on the steel bars with his razor sharp rat teeth. Within moments, Seth heard a pop as the first bar gave way.
Seth felt around on the guards until he found what he was hoping for. He lifted a set of keys and jingled them. 'Let's try these instead.'
Dung stopped his chewing and gave an annoyed squeal, as if to complain that Seth hadn't produced the keys prior to him going to the trouble. Seth tried three of the four keys on the ring before the lock disengaged. He swung the heavy rusted door open and rushed inside.
'Gideon?' He followed the trail of heat emanating from the priest's body. Seth fought the overwhelming smell of urine and blood to grab hold of his fellow priest and lift him to his feet. Gideon moaned and seemed to be only half conscious. 'Dung, you'll need to carry him.'
The rat appeared to understand and came inside the cell. He scooped the weary priest's body into his powerful forearms and followed Seth out of the cell. 'Stay close,' Seth said. 'We'll get him inside the tunnel and seal it as we backtrack out of here.'
Seth felt the heat from the torches on the wall next to Gideon's cell. He grabbed them and beat them out upon the ground casting the corridor between them and the tunnel in complete darkness-his world. 'Let's go,' he commanded.
Seth led the way through the corridor. Light appeared on the stairs. Seth heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. He rushed toward the sound, felt the heat of a torch, and heard the breathing of the guard. He flashed through the guard's vision as a blur-slashing as he passed. The guard barely caught a glimpse of the humongous rat before he fell over, bleeding out on the floor.
Seth continued until he smelled the dirt from below the floor. He echo-located the overturned floor stones and the hole, then climbed inside. Dung lowered the priest's body down into the hole where Seth helped to get him inside their tunnel. 'It will be a bit slow, but I think I can drag him, Dung.'
The rat dropped into the hole when they were clear. Seth began to backtrack in the tunnel and drag Gideon behind him. 'Be sure to close the tunnel after us, Dung.' The rat followed him a few yards, then pawed at the walls and roof of the tunnel until it collapsed after them.
Ethan and Levi reached the northern side of the wall encompassing the palace and the city of Emmanuel. With the training yards and Anakim barracks ablaze no one even paid any attention to them as they ran in the opposite direction of the trouble. 'Time to fly, Captain!'
Before Levi could protest, Ethan disappeared and seized the man by the shoulders, carrying him high over the soiled limestone wall. Several of Mordred's guards, who had been watching the fire in astonishment, pointed up at the man flying high above them. Since the mystery man wore their same uniform, one even waved when Levi shouted a 'hello' and 'goodbye,' as he passed over the wall.
Ethan descended, and they both landed a great distance from the wall in darkness. Ethan reappeared next to Levi, smiling. 'Don't you love doing that?'
'If the good Lord had wanted me to fly, he might have put wings on my back,' Levi said.
'Or at least an invisible boy, eh?'
Levi rolled his eyes. 'Enough of that…let's go and see if Seth and the big, smelly rat have rescued Gideon.'
Ethan laughed. 'You know you love the rat.'
Levi started jogging ahead toward their rendezvous. 'Don't get me started, lad!'
