Bryan Davis - Eye of the Oracle

Japheth nudged Shem’s ribs and whispered, “We could use another hand behind the shovel, if you know what I mean.”

Shem kicked Japheth’s ankle. “Shhh! I want to listen.”

Lowering her body even further, Morgan laid the sword at Noah’s feet and pressed her palms flat on the ground, her voice faltering as she wept. “An angel. . gave me this sword to offer as my price of passage. He said to. . to tell you that he used it to guard the Tree of Life, and it will. . it will serve you well as a shield for the ark.”

Noah picked up the sword and pulled it from its sheath. The blade flashed with light, and he gazed at it in wonder. “Amazing! It is Chereb, the sword of Eden!”

Shem stepped between Noah and the prostrate woman. “Father, you can’t seriously be considering this. Elohim said nothing about last-minute supplicants.” He waved his hand toward Morgan. “Besides, where was she during all the years we were building our refuge?”

“True enough, my son, but mercy covers both those who arrive early and those who arrive crying out with their last breath.” Noah slid the sword back into its sheath. “Did God say I am not allowed to take a refugee who has paid for her passage with the sword of Eden and with tears of repentance?”

“He said he found only you to be righteous.” Shem extended a finger at Morgan. “Not her.”

Noah knelt and placed a hand on the woman’s head. “Shem, are you my son? How can you be such a merciless judge?”

Shem kicked at a tuft of wiry grass and sighed. “I know I don’t deserve to go with you. If not for being your son, I would soon be food for sharks. But I’m not any kind of judge. I’m just imploring you to heed God’s word. If you don’t, we could all be lost.”

Noah straightened, nodding slowly. “Well spoken. But what of the sword and the angel’s message?”

“Sword or no sword, should you heed a secondhand account of an angel, when we know fallen angels roam the earth? Shouldn’t you obey the words God breathed directly into your ears?”

Noah laid the sword back down near Morgan’s hands. “Maybe we can ”

A loud shriek pierced the skies. A shining creature with coal black wings swooped over their heads. Two dragons followed side by side, shooting jets of flaming gas and bursting through their own wall of fire as they gave chase. Morgan jumped to her feet but kept her face toward the ground.

“A Watcher!” Japheth yelled. “Everyone to the ark!” He dashed across the bridge to the deck and latched on to both fastening ropes. “Hurry! I’ll keep it steady.”

“It’s Samyaza!” Noah shouted at the larger of the two dragons. “Makaidos! Beware of his eyes!”

Shem grabbed Noah’s elbow and hustled him toward the bridge. Morgan followed, the sword at her side and her chin against her chest.

Japheth flexed his muscles, fighting against the jerking ropes, but when Morgan tramped onto the bridge, he almost lost his grip. He cringed, grinding his teeth in pain. Should he stop her? Father had not said for sure. But with danger all around, how could he leave her behind?

As Noah and Shem neared the ark, the shining creature landed on the deck, grabbed Japheth, and dragged him away from the bridge, locked in a vicious clench. Japheth pushed against the creature’s huge, glowing arms, but they clamped down, squeezing his breath away. Shem turned around and hustled his father off the swaying bridge, nearly knocking Morgan over on his way back to solid ground. Morgan followed them to safety.

The two dragons stormed down to the boat, both bodies thumping the deck in awkward crash landings. Their claws scratched deep lines in the gopher wood planks as they scrambled to right themselves. Japheth fell lower in the demon’s grip, still trapped, but at least he could breathe.

Makaidos roared. “Fight us in the sky, you coward! Are you a Watcher or a washwoman?”

The Watcher laughed. “Who is a washwoman, the outnumbered angel, or the lizard who sputters brave words when a female is guarding his flank?”

Makaidos glanced at Thigocia and spewed black smoke from both nostrils. “I am not afraid to fight you. You have my word that Thigocia will stay on this deck.”

“But, Makaidos!” Thigocia said, slapping her tail on the planks, “we have been trained to fight together!”

Makaidos spat a ball of sparks that fizzled in the wet air. “Samyaza is just Lucifer’s marionette. A little fire will scorch his puppet strings, and he will die, just like the Naphil.”

Japheth tried to slip lower, but Samyaza hoisted him up to his massive chest and squeezed again. Japheth gasped. A popping noise sounded and stabbing pain ripped across his ribs.

Samyaza croaked, “At least this dragon speaks more bravely than his father did. Arramos whimpered pitifully before I killed him a few minutes ago.”

Makaidos’s scales flushed to a solid crimson. “You are a liar!”

“True,” Samyaza said, nodding. “I am a liar when it suits my purposes, but I have no reason to lie about my conquests. Arramos whimpered for mercy like a beaten dog.”

“Makaidos,” Thigocia hissed, “do not listen to him. He twists words. He even lies about when he lies. Arramos is alive. I know he is.”

Makaidos growled a whisper at Thigocia. “Whether he is alive or not, I need you to stay here and guard the refuge boat! Will you do it?”

Thigocia closed her eyes, her words barely audible. “If that is your will.”

Makaidos whipped his neck back toward Samyaza. “Just let the human go. No matter how you demons fracture your promises, a dragon’s covenant is never broken. I will fight you alone!”

“And if I refuse?” Samyaza replied, his brow lifting. “I could easily wait for the other Watchers to arrive. I have already signaled for them.”

Japheth thrust his body upward just enough to push out a gasping shout. “Torch the devil!” he yelled. “I would rather die as this ark’s signal beacon than allow it to fail!”

The demon slapped his hand over Japheth’s mouth. He grimaced at the stench as pain pierced his lungs.

Makaidos nodded solemnly at Japheth. “You have your answer, Samyaza. If you refuse, Thigocia and I will grant the human’s wish. You will become this boat’s signal torch.”

Japheth bit Samyaza’s broom-handle-sized finger. The demon slammed him to the deck and shook his massive hand in pain. With his ribs in agony, Japheth sat up, and as he clutched his sides, his gaze landed on Samyaza’s wounded hand. Were there five fingers and a thumb? Was the legend really true?

With a flurry of black wings, Samyaza burst into the sky. “Come then, lizard! If you really dare!”

Makaidos rolled an egg-shaped orb toward Japheth. “Keep the Ovulum safe. It belonged to the Oracle.” He then shot upward in pursuit of the demon.

Japheth picked up the Ovulum and struggled to his feet, pushing against the pummeling draft of the dragon’s wings. Stumbling to the bridge, he shoved the orb into his tunic and grabbed the ropes again, steadying the sway while Shem hurried their father across. His aching ribs screamed in agony, but he held on while Shem and Noah hustled past him and ducked through Adam’s Door.

Morgan, wrapping her arms around herself and the sword, tiptoed onto the bridge again. Japheth rolled his eyes. Now what? He couldn’t untie the bridge; she would fall to her death. And there was no one left to ask about her no human, that is.

He yanked on the rope, shaking the bridge. Morgan dropped to her knees and grasped the side with one hand, hanging on to the sword with the other.

“Stay there!” Japheth yelled. He spun to Thigocia. “Have you ever seen this woman before?”

Thigocia’s eyebeams danced across the low clouds as the rain steadily worsened. Roars and rumbles sounded from above, and flashes of light painted the foggy sky. Finally, she stretched her neck over the side of the ark. “Her face is familiar.” She squinted, her forked tongue darting in and out. “Hmmm.”