Gideon tried to ignore him. Those same thoughts had paraded through his mind during their entire march toward the Thornhills.
'I can see you're looking forward to it almost as much as I am. And yet we must delay until tomorrow,' Grimwald said.
'Why? What are we doing for the rest of the day?'
'Preparing.' The General closed his eyes as though enraptured. 'You'll witness something tonight you've never seen before, priest.'
For the remainder of the day, the soldiers worked like bees doing their master's will. They were only too happy to comply with his demands today. He had ordered all of the cattle, which had been marched behind them, to be slaughtered. A great feast would be prepared.
By evening, the soldiers were roasting great hunks of beef upon a hundred huge fires. Gideon watched, fascinated by what was taking place. It made no sense to him at all. What did Grimwald have planned?
By nightfall, the entire camp had grown loud in their revelry. The soldiers acted like they had gone on holiday. Gideon watched Grimwald. He had not joined in the festivities. The General simply watched. He seemed to be waiting.
Then something changed in the camp. First one, then another and another of the soldiers doubled over in pain. They moaned loudly. The laughing ceased. More of the men buckled to their knees as though under an unseen attack. The first began to scream, thrashing upon the ground like a madman.
Gideon looked at Grimwald, now standing next to one of the pyres. He smiled as he watched a wave of mass hysteria transform his camp. He and Gideon, alone, remained unaffected.
The men writhed on the ground, howling unnaturally. Gideon walked through the melee of agonized bodies toward General Grimwald. 'What's going on, General?'
Grimwald smiled sadistically. 'Exactly what I told you would. The demons are entering them. All of these men underwent a ritual of binding before marching on this campaign. They have taken oaths, and today they will fulfill them.'
Gideon watched the soldiers: some of them begged for mercy. Whatever process they were undergoing, they didn't seem at all happy about it.
'This is how my men will enter the Temple of Shaddai. This is how the demons will be able to pass through- bound to Mordred's soldiers,' Grimwald explained.
'I've seen possessed soldiers before, Grimwald-and I've beaten plenty.'
Grimwald grinned as though instructing a foolish child reluctant to learn their lessons. 'You've not seen this before. They are not merely possessed. These men are now joined completely. The spirits may not come and go as they please. These men are becoming part demon-something new.'
As Grimwald spoke, Gideon noticed the reason for the pain these men were experiencing. It wasn't simply the invasion of a spirit, but the transformation of their physical bodies which drew their howling lament.
Hands grew larger-the bones creaking and popping. Some of the men began to puff up, as though muscles were ballooning all over their bodies. Eyes changed to bloodshot red with yellow rimmed irises. Some grew taller, others hunched over. Fangs protruded over lips and nails grew rigid and sharp.
Gideon realized his mistake. He'd supposed the priests of Shaddai would be fighting back against things he'd already conquered. But these creatures were no longer human. When he led Grimwald's forces through the secret Temple entrance it would not be an army of men, but abominations.
Several hours had passed in Grimwald's camp as demon and man fused into new, hideous mutations. Grimwald went throughout his ranks examining the painful process, delighted with his progress. Gideon watched the scene from a distance, horrified. The abominations of Mordred had now grown to new heights. Men, taken over and fused with hellish spirits, now roamed the encampment with cruel, leering smiles for Gideon.
Gideon thought that, were it not for Mordred's wrath, they might have torn him limb from limb and gleefully feasted upon his innards. After facing the possessed man onboard Rommil's ship, returning from Macedon, he knew what sort of power these men wielded. Only these appeared even fiercer, if that were possible.
General Grimwald walked toward Gideon. 'What do you think, priest? Shall I unleash them on Millertown? It's only a few miles over those hills, before we come to the base of the Thornhills.'
Gideon tried not to think of the carnage that would surely issue through Millertown until everyone within had been killed. The townspeople wouldn't stand a chance. And Sarah's parents still lived there among many of his other friends.
Gideon feigned interest. 'Go ahead, Grimwald, I'm sure such a diversion would do much for alerting the Temple of our imminent arrival.'
Grimwald's smile dropped. He obviously hadn't considered that possibility. He smiled again after a moment. 'Very good, Gideon…very good. But we may need to come back through Millertown, just the same, on our way back to Emmanuel, once the Temple has been destroyed.'
Gideon didn't rise to the bait, but only kept his gaze cool and leveled upon Grimwald. He hunched his shoulders in apathy for good measure.
Grimwald called out for his second in command. 'Dervins!' A terrifying version of the man sauntered over, complete with yellow eyes like a frog and a mane of thick black fur trailing down from his head. The man's uniform had nearly split apart from the new bulk of muscle formed during the hideous transformation. A set of four boney prongs jutted out of his forehead, crowning the mutation.
He spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. 'Yes, sir?'
Grimwald almost seemed taken aback by the man, now clearly superior in size and strength to himself. A smear of cow's blood still dripped down Dervins' uniform.
Gideon recalled, with disgust, how the terrified cattle that remained had been brought up among the ranks of mutated soldiers only to be slaughtered. A feast of gore had quickly ensued as demonic men tore into the poor beasts: blood and entrails flying in every direction among the feeding frenzy.
'Form ranks immediately,' Grimwald said. 'We leave for the Broken Pass at the base of the Thornhills within the hour.'
The beast, that had been Dervins, snorted, delivering a gooey string of mucus onto the front of Grimwald's breastplate. Dervins grinned, despite his bow, then cocked an eye toward Gideon that made chills run the length of his spine. He no longer believed General Grimwald was in control here.
BROKEN PASS
The next evening, Gideon watched the dwindling lights of Millertown, far behind and below Grimwald's army, with satisfaction. With any good providence, this company would never come back out of the Thornhill Mountains alive. Nevertheless, Grimwald had managed to assemble and lead his horrifying new army all the way onto the Broken Pass at the base of the mountains. Now it had become Gideon's turn to lead.
He rode approximately fifty yards ahead of the main group, scouting out the way before them. Gideon smiled in anticipation. He would have to lead them the long way around in order to give the army access into one of the secret exits used by The Order of Shaddai. He also knew that approaching in this manner was fraught with all manner of natural perils.
Gideon dared a silent prayer in hopes that Shaddai would not only alert The Order to their presence in the mountains, as they approached, but also destroy as many of these ghoulish creatures as possible along the way. If his prayer was answered, he hoped the priests would be long gone by the time any of his company actually made it into the Temple.
The rocky terrain, where they were currently riding, had gradually grown more so as the day had worn on. Now, with twilight upon them, the rocks and boulders, which occasionally rolled down upon the pass, had become a nuisance to the long, winding line of horses trailing after him. Gideon watched the loose hanging shelves of shale that towered above them on either side. Jagged teeth of grayish rock threatened to close on them at any moment. Sun-bleached bones, lying here and there beneath slabs of rock, testified to past tragedies.
