James Somers - The Order of Shaddai

“So, you are the girl who stole the heart of a priest away from his God?” Mordred asked.

Sarah said nothing. She had never thought of their marriage in that way. The comment sent icy pricks up and down her spine. Is that what people see in our relationship-that I’ve betrayed the Lord and stolen Gideon from Him?

“Of course, I suppose if anything could cause a man to forget his faith and the vows he has made, it would be the devilish charms of a woman,” Mordred continued. The other horsemen laughed at his remarks.

Sarah closed her eyes, wishing she could close her ears. His words felt like venom seeping into her veins, paralyzing her resolve.

“Now tell me, Sarah-”

He knows my name?

“-where is your husband and the boy traveling with him?”

Sarah stiffened, but did not speak.

“Perhaps, they have gone to the Isle of Macedon?”

Sarah’s eyes lit up with surprise. How did he know?

Mordred laughed at her bewilderment. “Do you really think I am so blind, girl? My eyes are in every place. I see all that happens in my kingdom and beyond. Your husband and Shaddai’s Deliverer are on a mission to bring the Word to the Isle of Macedon, supposing the island liberated from my hand. But I can assure you, I’m still very much in control there.”

Mordred rode up beside the mount where she was confined. He took notice of her unborn child for the first time. “How precious…and heartbreaking.” He smiled. “A child who will never see its father.”

Sarah cried out. “No!”

But this only baited Mordred’s desire to torment her all the more. “Take her to the palace and keep her secure. I want no harm to come to her or the child. Is that understood?”

“Yes, my Lord!”

They turned their mounts and started eastward for Emmanuel. Mordred watched them as they retreated from the carnage of the massacred village.

“Is this really necessary? The boy and the priest will be ours in Macedon. Why bother with this girl. We should just kill her and be done with it,” Mordred complained.

The demon, Jericho, stood next to Mordred’s horse, only visible to the warlord at the moment. “Mordred, your lust for blood does you credit on the battlefield, but these matters require more subtlety. The girl gives us an advantage over the enemy. Never give up your advantage. The trap at Macedon may be set, and the prey walking straight into it, but you should realize by now, when dealing with Shaddai you never underestimate your enemy.”

It took the Trinity nearly three weeks to make the run to Macedon. The voyage had been relatively uneventful after the attack of the sea dragon. Ethan had saved Gideon’s life in the process, and Gideon had saved his by getting him back to the Trinity in his exhausted condition. The bitter feelings felt when they had departed from the Temple of Shaddai were forgotten between them as they labored with Bonifast’s new crew and enjoyed their time at sea.

It was easy for Ethan to understand how a man like Bonifast could fall in love with the sea and never feel at home anywhere else. There was freedom out here. The wild sort that was difficult to experience on land. In some way, it was like taming a monster. The sea quickly destroyed those unaccustomed to her ways and the watery graves of many a sailing ship bore grim testimony to it.

The Isle of Macedon was fairly large in size-sixty miles in diameter. It had long been a heathen nation. Years ago, priests of Shaddai had evangelized the island, but it had since come under the dominion of Mordred and his Wraith Riders.

Ahead of the Trinity lay a massive port city. “That’s our destination, lads,” Levi said. “Calvera.”

“Isn’t there some place less congested where we could make port?” Gideon asked.

“Calvera is the only port for the whole island,” Levi said. “But I don’t think we should have a great deal of trouble remaining anonymous in such a large place. After all, I’ve removed the Trinity’s name plates and there’s so much traffic here. I have a good feeling.”

“Now, I feel much better,” Gideon said sarcastically.

“No better than I do, I’m sure, for having two deadly priests onboard to protect me.” They both grinned at one another and Levi went back to work guiding the ship into port.

The Calvera Harbor was a very busy place and seemed to stretch in both directions as far as one could see on this side of the island. Ships, too many to number accurately, of all sizes, entered or departed full of the spices and fruits the island nation had always been famous for.

“What’s the name of the king here in Macedon?” Ethan asked.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the island, lad. Last I heard, the king had been imprisoned along with his family. Mordred’s army has occupied the island for more than ten years. If something’s happened to change that, I’ve not heard it.”

“We’ll have to be very discreet. Even though a royal emissary was sent from Macedon, we can’t assume it was really from their king,” Gideon said.

“Then where are we going to take the scroll chest?” Ethan asked.

“To be honest, I’m really not sure,” Gideon said. “That’s why you and I will be going ashore in disguise to start with. Once we identify who’s actually in power here, we can decide if there is anyone on the island who can take charge of the chest to disseminate its teachings.”

“And if we can’t?”

“Then we go home and take the scrolls with us.”

The crew of the Trinity worked with the dockhands to moor the ship once they had found a place of entry. Levi went ashore first to arrange payment of docking fees and find out anything he could about who was in charge of the port and the island. Ethan and Gideon waited before actually setting off on the island themselves. When Bonifast returned an hour later and met with the priests in his cabin, he wore a curious smile on his face.

“Well, what did you find out, Levi?” Gideon asked.

“Good news, lads. A king has been reinstated on the island. It seems the son of the former king, who is dead now, began a revolt nearly a year ago. He managed to drive out the army of Mordred stationed here. I couldn’t learn anymore than that without acting suspicious.”

Ethan eyed Gideon curiously. “What do you think?”

“I’m not sure. Have you spotted any demon activity in the port?”

“When we were on deck earlier, I didn’t see any at all. It’s eerie how quiet it is-from a spiritual standpoint anyway,” Ethan said.

Gideon rubbed his chin. “Just the same, I think we should conduct our own reconnaissance further inland and see if the story holds true everywhere.”

“Well, I told the dock master that we were here to purchase spices, so I’ll get the crew working on that to throw them off our scent, just in case,” Levi said.

Ethan and Gideon cloaked themselves in brown hooded robes and girded their swords underneath. There would be nothing so suspicious about carrying weapons out in the open, but any measure of inconspicuous they could maintain would be worth it in the long run.

When Gideon and Ethan disembarked from the Trinity, they made their way through the crowded docks and onto shore with little difficulty. But when they started walking down the main thoroughfare into Calvera, a wall of soldiers immediately appeared ahead of them. The crowds dispersed. Another compliment of soldiers surrounded them from the rear, cutting them off from the ship.

The two priests of Shaddai stopped dead in their tracks as pedestrians cleared the way around them. “Hold, Ethan,” Gideon warned as the boy groped under his cloak for the hilt of his sword. “Notice the uniforms?”