James Somers - The Realm Shift

The Maelstrom bloomed like a fiery flower behind them before the sound ever found their ears. The old pirate ship erupted in every direction at once, sending flaming debris into the sky. A shockwave surged outward from the explosion like an invisible juggernaut, smashing everything in its path.

The three Man-O-Wars, surrounding the Maelstrom, ripped apart as the shockwave hit them. Their sails were shredded and set on fire as the masts splintered, falling like trees toppled by a mighty wind. A fiery cloud engulfed the entire lot of them, as more explosions erupted from the powder stores onboard the enemy ships.

When the shockwave hit Gideon and Bonifast a second later, it sent all three of them reeling. Ethan was pulled by their bodies as the blast wave tossed them all back into the sea. Ethan shifted back to the physical world after they hit the water. His friends quickly came back to the surface for air.

Levi Bonifast watched as the black mushroom cloud rose from his ship. There was nothing recognizable about the old seabird now. Had it not been for the fact that they were all in the water, the two young men might have noticed several tears tracing down Bonifast’s stubbly cheeks. “I guess I’m a civilian now,” he muttered under his breath as the three men bobbed in the sea.

The Maelstrom was no more. Nothing but ash and burning debris remained. But Captain Bonifast, Ethan, and Gideon did not linger to watch it burn. Bonifast had a plan. “We’ll enter the palace ourselves and find your sister,” he told Ethan.

“But how? How can we get inside from here?”

Here was a good two hundred yards from the granite cliffs now towering above them. They were crowned at the top by the king’s palace, now the home of Mordred himself.

“I’ve scaled many a rock face before,” Gideon said, “but it would take equipment we simply don’t have to get up that cliff.”

“You’re not thinking, boys,” Bonifast said. “If you knew anything about the palace, then you would know there is a series of drains which lead away from it to the sea. Now, how do you suppose they drain into the Azure?”

Ethan and Gideon looked at one another puzzled, then at the white cliffs ahead. “Through the rock?”

“Precisely! We only have to swim over to where the rock meets the water, then find the drains. I’ve heard from old acquaintances that the drains will lead you right into the throne room if you know what you’re doing.”

“People have gone through them before?” Ethan asked.

Bonifast smiled. “Oh yes, they have. I’ve not been myself, but that’s the only direct way I know of.”

They heard the sounds of a distant battle above them. “King Stephen must have already begun his attack,” Bonifast said.

“Perhaps we should join him,” Ethan suggested.

“He won’t be able to breach the walls,” Gideon said. “No, I think the captain’s suggestion is probably going to be our best bet for getting inside and rescuing your sister, Ethan. Besides, the battle with Stephen will have Mordred and his forces preoccupied. No one will expect us.”

“I’ll go ahead while you two swim for the cliffs,” Ethan said. “I’ll have the best chance of finding the drain.”

Levi and Gideon nodded their agreement, then began to tread water toward the pristine rock ahead. Ethan entered the spiritual realm again, floating up from the sea. He raced ahead of his friends toward the cliffs.

Ethan watched the sky expecting to find the angels still engaged in battle, but they were gone. The edge of the demon cloud remained barely visible above the top of the cliffs. Ethan supposed the spiritual warfare must have moved over the battlefield where King Stephen fought to breach the city walls.

Ethan soared upward as he reached the cliff. His supernatural eyes scanned every crevice of the white rock, looking for the drain coming from the palace above. It took him nearly twenty minutes of going back and forth to find it. The drain gate had been painted in white and grey to match the cliff and it was not as big an opening as Ethan would have hoped for.

The gate was located twenty feet above the water level. This presented the problem of getting Levi Bonifast and Gideon up to the drain in order to enter. The drain tunnel was roughly three feet in diameter. It would be a tight squeeze. Provided it did not open up into larger tunnels higher up, this would be a long and tenuous climb to the palace.

Ethan headed back to his friends. They had swam closer to the cliff wall. He stopped above them and reentered the physical world. Ethan appeared out of thin air about five feet over their heads. Gravity dragged him into the water.

“Did you find it, lad?” Levi asked as Ethan came up for air again.

“It’s over there,” he said, pointing to their right, “about twenty feet up on the wall.”

“Did you see any way for us to climb it?” Gideon asked.

“None. But I can carry you up to the drain one at a time.”

They swam the remaining distance to the wall. They could barely make out the drain opening from the water. “I’ll go up and cut through the gate, then come back for each of you,” Ethan said.

Ethan liked knowing the plan depended on him so much. It felt good to be an integral part of what Shaddai was doing against Mordred. He felt like victory might be certain now. He was so close to fulfilling the prophecy.

Ethan shifted to the spiritual realm again and shot up to the drain tunnel. He pulled the heavenly sword from his side, slashing at the bars of the drain gate. An orange streak of molten metal marked where his blade had cut through.

Ethan used his armored foot to smash the two halves of the gate in. Ethan let go of his sword, willing it to his side. The supernatural blade obeyed, snapping back to his left hip.

Ethan dropped down to his comrades still floating in the water below. They were only half expecting it when Ethan grabbed each of them under their arms, in turn, and hoisted them to the open drain gate. Gideon, then Levi, crawled inside the dark tunnel and Ethan followed, coming back to the physical world. “It’s going to be difficult without any light,” Levi said.

“I’ll go for a lantern,” Ethan said. He shot out of the tunnel again, shifting in mid-air. He was getting braver with his gift. Ethan flew to the burning wreckage of the Maelstrom and Mordred’s ships. It was hard to tell which was which by now. Ethan soared through the fiery debris and smoke until he found what he was looking for-two lanterns lying among the wreckage of twisted boards and charred bodies.

Ethan took them up and used a piece of wood, which was still on fire, to light them. One of them had a cracked bell on it, but it would do for their purposes. Ethan returned quickly to the drainage tunnel where his friends were waiting. He handed them the lanterns, then returned to the physical realm.

“What about you?” Gideon asked.

“I think it might be wise if I go ahead of you two and make sure nothing is blocking our way.”

“Good idea,” Levi said, “we could use a scout to keep us on track. This tunnel is supposed to branch out into several directions at some point.” They all agreed and Ethan returned to the unseen.

He was beginning to enjoy being in this form more than in the physical world. Here there were no constraints on him, no gravity-not even a need to breathe and matter became as passable as air. Ethan went ahead of them, up the tunnel like lead shot through the barrel of a musket, his spiritual sight lighting his way.

The drain tunnel wound up through the rock toward the palace. There were other smaller tunnels intersecting with it, but otherwise it continued directly to the palace. Ethan began to get that tingling feeling, which always warned him of the presence of demons. He stopped below the drain gate in the floor of the palace. He did not know what room lay beyond and he wasn’t sure how many demons might be waiting on the other side.