James Somers - The Sword of Gideon

"Hello, men! where are you all going?" Levi asked as he caught up with the last of the group. A few of the last in the line paused to answer him.

"We've been conscripted by King Stephen as his personal guard," one of them said.

"Personal guard?" Levi asked. "Why in the world would The Order of Shaddai be operating in that capacity? I thought your first business was protecting Shaddai's Word and the Temple?"

"It's been a longstanding agreement with the Royal House," another said. "Besides, who would you rather have guarding you, the King's soldiers or the priests of Shaddai?"

Levi smiled. "You've got a point. Mind if I tag along? I'd like to talk to King Stephen anyway."

The priests waved him on as they jogged to catch up. As they passed the courtyard sitting before the palace, the same where Evelah's citizens had been gathered in order to receive the King's proclamation earlier, Levi observed the mounds of freshly dug earth at various intervals in the lush green lawn. He imagined the Royal Groundskeeper cursing whoever had dug so many holes and refilled them on his once beautiful lawn. Still, those holes might well save many lives before this was all over. Levi found it easy not to feel guilty about it.

As they began to pass beneath the portcullis, Levi heard a massive explosion behind them. He and the other men turned toward the Temple, finding a mushroom of smoke rising off the side of the building. Even more startling than the explosion was what had caused it to happen.

In the sky above the Wayland Temple, just now coming into the city, were at least two dozen of Mordred's Man-o-war battleships sailing through the air. Levi's mouth dropped open.

"What in the world are they?" yelled one of the priests standing next to Levi.

Levi could only stare in astonishment. "I've no idea. Never have I seen their like."

More explosions erupted both at the Temple and within the city. In moments the sounds of panic and screaming had reached their ears at the palace. "They're dropping grenades on the city," Levi said. "They could practically level Evelah before Mordred ever shows up!"

"We've got to stop them," one of the priests said.

"No!" said the priest in charge. "Our place is with the King. He needs our protection." He motioned to the others and began issuing commands.

"Wait!" Levi pleaded. "Are there any cannon we can use here at the palace?"

"Not with enough range to reach those things as high up as they are," said one of the priests who had straggled behind the main group. Most of the priests had already fallen in line behind the ranking priest in order to protect King Stephen inside his palace. "But I think I know of something kept within the King's Museum of Science that might help us."

Levi followed the two priests whom the leader had grudgingly allowed to stay behind. They led Levi deep into the palace as many of King Stephen's soldiers rallied their defenses. The ships flew silently over the city leaving a rain of devastation in their wake. Each time they passed a window, Levi found the floating Man-o-wars edging ever closer.

The priests led him higher and higher utilizing stairways Levi had never accessed before during his own time in Stephen's court. Finally they arrived at a set of large steel doors. One of the priests, Kline, opened the doors, revealing a vast store of strange inventions. Levi entered with Kline and the other priest, Devin.

Many items lined the walls: strange suits of armor, weapons, and contraptions of every kind imaginable. Levi's eyes swept across the treasures before him. Kline led them back around a corner in the room where another hall of artifacts had been housed. There, suspended from the ceiling by steel cables, hung an assortment of flying machines.

Levi smiled. "What are they?"

Kline pointed to them. "I believe the King referred to them as gliders. I saw a man launch himself from the large balcony out that window during an exhibition for King Stephen. Inventors often bring their creations to the King of Wayland in the hopes that he will be inspired to fund their work."

"I don't think I've ever seen anything like them before," Levi said.

"I guess the King wasn't feeling very inspired that day," Devin said. "These are the only ones."

Levi grinned, looking up at the gliders suspended from the ceiling as though in flight. "Well, I'm certainly feeling inspired. Let's get them down. I've got an idea."

Levi stood on the huge veranda overlooking Evelah on the southern side of King Stephen's palace. He now wore one of the large gliders on his back, having the form of a large, triangular wing fastened to a light tubular frame. "How does this thing work again?" Levi asked.

Kline stood upon the balcony railing, fighting against the wind which threatened to topple him from his perch. "Just use your body to lean against this bar," he said indicating the one which ran down from the wing-frame to cross below his chest. "Your weight will change the way the wing bears into the wind and thus change your direction. Lean back in the harness to rise once you have a good deal of speed going."

Levi nodded. He hoped the quick lessons Kline had given Devon and him would be enough to keep them from killing themselves with this stunt. At any rate, this was the only way he could think of to reach those ships and stop them. Already buildings had been leveled in Evelah. People were screaming and running through the streets for their lives. "Let's do this," Levi said.

Kline nodded and then turned to face Evelah spreading out below him. He threw back a salute to Devon and Levi and then leaped forward away from the stone rail running the length of the balcony. Immediately he plummeted toward the stone garden paths several hundred feet below. Levi gasped until he saw the cloth wing catch the wind.

Kline swooped over the ground only a few dozen feet from striking the pavement. He soared upward, peaked and then dove again, building momentum to rise again. He did this maneuver several times to gain substantial height. Suddenly he picked up altitude rather dramatically. He whooped from far away. "I've caught a pocket of warmer air!"

The priest continued to climb. Levi looked back at Devon, who had taken up the rear position in this little parade. "I guess there's no time like the present, lad." Levi rushed to the railing and climbed up trying to adjust his balance and keep from dropping to the stones below in the process. He tilted the nose of the giant cloth wing-frame upward as Kline had told them to do.

Levi had the distinct feeling this was going to end badly. He jumped down from the balcony railing and backed up toward Devon.

"What are you doing, Captain?"

"Back up a bit, lad. I'm going to at least give this contraption a running start."

Devon backed his own flying wing further into the palace and waited as Levi positioned himself. He took a few deep breaths and then surged forward as hard as he could. Levi felt the wing trying to catch the wind and nosed it down slightly. His speed increased, he leaped over the stone railing and cleared it, yelling reflexively. The wing-frame caught the wind and he sailed smoothly out over the city of Evelah below.

Levi's departure had turned out smoother than his would-be instructor. He found that he was able to gain altitude much more quickly. When he reached the approximate place where Kline had yelled back to them, Levi also felt the temperature of the air change dramatically. His height increased rapidly until soon he was even higher than the airships he and the others meant to attack.

He had difficulty seeing behind the huge wing-frame, but hoped Devon had gotten underway safely. Levi came up a little higher even than Kline had managed before sailing out toward the Man-o-wars still bombing the city. Levi found that gentle alterations made keeping his altitude fairly easy. He dipped slightly, then rose, dipped and then rose over and over until he found himself over the mass of warships moving slowing over Evelah.