James Somers - The Realm Shift

They came to an area where tall pines drove high into the sky. The sparse undergrowth made for easy movement between the trees. At this time of year, the pine needles created a thick mat upon the forest floor, helping to silence their footsteps.

Gideon brought them to a halt and quietly got down from his saddle. He removed two arrows from his quiver. Ethan started to speak, but Gideon quickly silenced him with a wave of his hand. He pointed into the dimly lit forest beyond the road. Ethan noticed the slightest hint of movement. Something watched them anxiously.

They both stood behind their horses now. An animal might be spooked by a person walking about, but they would be unconcerned by horses. Gideon nocked both arrows at the same time. These arrows had different heads than the ones Ethan had seen Gideon use on Mordecai’s renegade priests. Instead of the needle tip, both arrows were fitted with broad heads to promote more internal damage and a faster bleed-out time.

Gideon’s middle finger curled up to separate their flight path by a degree. Ethan watched the trees. His new senses kicked in again, just as it had happened at the slaughter of Mr. Howinger’s doomed delegation. He saw the animal-a fallow deer, almost as if it were standing completely in daylight. The animal hid behind a pine trunk nearly one hundred yards away. Ethan heard its heartbeat and smelled its scent. He saw the heat rising from its body.

Then Gideon let the arrows fly. Ethan watched the air vibrate as the two arrows cut through atmosphere, driving toward their target. One arrow struck the neck, while the other hit the heart. Ethan could almost feel the wounded heart seize inside the deer’s chest.

The startled animal bolted from the spot where it stood, clearing a span of twenty feet in the first leap. Ethan started to lunge forward in pursuit. Gideon quickly stopped him with a restraining hand to the shoulder. “No need to wear yourself out, Ethan.”

Sure enough, as Gideon and Ethan led their horses back through the pines, they found the deer fifty yards from where it had been shot. “See there, I told you. No need to wear yourself out when you place the shots right.”

Gideon removed a set of knives from his saddlebag and went to work harvesting meat for them. He unrolled a canvas bag and placed the meat inside. “Now, let’s get further up the road, then we’ll make camp. We’ll leave the carcass for others to have their fill. If there are any bears or wolves in the area, hopefully they’ll come here for meat and leave us alone tonight.” A generous amount of salt lay in the bag already, which Gideon rolled over in order to cover the meat.

Ethan helped Gideon with the heavy bag of meat and then saddled Whistler. Dark lay upon them now with the moon casting an eerie glow through the canopy of dense pine needles overhead. They rode back out to the main road, following the bare road glowing in the moonlight. Within ten minutes, they had found a large clearing with a few stout trees. There they made camp for the night.

A wonderful aroma streamed off the deer meat as it roasted over their fire. Gideon produced some fragrant spices from another pouch on his saddle. The sweet smelling savor had Ethan’s mouth watering for a taste.

“I want you to tell me how you came to be in Grandee, the attack, everything you can remember, all right?” Gideon asked.

Ethan was more than ready to get it all off his chest. He told Gideon what he could remember of his mother and father and the village of Salem. He told him about the day when the attack came and the demon he saw in the market.

Ethan was surprised Gideon did not immediately brand him as crazy. He went on to tell him about the attack itself and what he had seen when he and Elspeth had fled into the woods. Ethan told him about coming to Howinger’s farm and the way he had treated them while they were there and about the council meeting and the demon turning the words of the men to achieve its goal.

Gideon listened intently, slowly turning the spit over the fire. He took in every bit of information, processing it with what he knew of the Deliverer and the Wraith Riders under Mordred. When the boy finally finished, Gideon mulled it over, still turning there meal over the flames.

“When can we eat?” Ethan asked.

“Just a little longer, my friend. Tell me, Ethan, what are your plans? With Grandee sacked, there’s nothing left for you there.”

Ethan considered it. “I thought about going to Emmanuel to see if I can find my sister.”

“A rescue from the palace would be very difficult to pull off by yourself,” Gideon said.

“I have to find her, if she’s still alive, Gideon,” Ethan said. “Like you said, there’s nothing else left for me.”

“I understand. And you have a good reason for believing she could have survived the attack. I’m just worried that you would end up captured or killed in the attempt.”

Ethan stared into the fire.

“What I mean is that you have no weapons and no training,” Gideon clarified. “I would guess you don’t even have a plan for getting into the city, let alone the palace itself.”

Ethan turned to Gideon. His expression said it all. The boy did not have the first clue about how he might rescue his sister. He seemed utterly alone in the world and Gideon felt sorry for him. Ethan had to be the prophesied Deliverer, but he was still a real boy who needed help. “I tell you what, Ethan, I’ll help you try to locate your sister.”

Ethan immediately perked up. “Will you, Gideon?”

“Yes, but I want this promise from you in return.”

“Anything.”

“Successful or not, I want you to return with me to The Order of Shaddai-to the Temple. There you can meet with the High Priest, Isaiah.”

“Of course, Gideon, anything you say,” Ethan promised.

Gideon took one of his knives and sliced the meat hanging over the fire. The fatty juices fell sizzling onto the coals. He used another three-pronged utensil to stab the piece and hold it. Then he handed it over to Ethan.

The boy took it eagerly, blowing away some of the heat. When he sank his teeth into it for the first time and the taste hit his tongue, Ethan groaned as though he had just sampled the finest food on the planet. He savored it, chewing slowly, letting it roll over in his mouth for a full effect. “Boy, a king couldn’t ask for a better tasting piece of meat than this,” Ethan said.

“Absence does make the heart grow fonder, as they say. I probably could have given you the worst piece and it would have been just as good, since you’ve gone so long without.”

Ethan nodded his agreement-his mouth too full of food to say anything. The two young men relaxed with their venison and enjoyed the fire. They would set out again, in the morning, for Emmanuel.

The cool wind blew gently. Ethan and Gideon had both finished off generous portions of the venison before falling asleep near the fire, which had reduced to slow burning embers by now. Ethan rested as comfortably as he ever had beneath a blanket borrowed from Gideon’s supplies. It was peaceful lying out under the stars this way.

The horses seemed restless. Ethan might have dismissed it had he not heard voices accompanying it. He opened his eyes and saw several demons coming toward their camp from the forest. They hovered just above the ground. Some were wolf like, others appeared reptilian. The horses shifted uneasily as though they could see what was coming. Gideon awoke. The blanket next to him lay empty. Ethan had disappeared.

Ethan watched Gideon stand when the horses became nervous. Gideon called to Ethan as though he did not see him standing right there in front of him. Ethan turned toward the demons. They were gaping at him.