Enmity

by Paul J Fowler

  Seth was fully armed, two swords on his back, and his war club slung over one shoulder. He carried a spear as well as two javelins. Adam joined Seth at the front of the hunters. All the men dropped their shoulder bags. Behind them, Jathan and Dinak were equipped with the large shields and carried extra javelins. The younger men were designated to bear arms for Seth and Lethan unless ordered otherwise. Behind them, Loran and Lethan followed bows ready. Mica took up the rear with the horse. Seth heard the clicking of flint on steel. After a moment, he smelled smoke, then Mica called out.

  “Ready, Chieftain!” Mica stated.

  Seth looked to the heavens and prayed aloud in a clear and robust voice. As he did, the others joined him

  “Blessed be my Rock!

  The LORD who trains my hands for war,

  The Lord who is my strength and shield,

  “Blessed be my Rock!

  The Lord whose mercy covers me,

  Mighty Angels go before us,

  Contend with those we cannot see!

  Blessed be the Lord my Rock!”

  Seth took a deep breath, then turned and looked at his men. Their faces were apprehensive but resolute.

  At that moment, a brisk breeze blew through the pass where they waited. Seth and Adam both froze and looked upward. The breeze did not diminish but grew stronger. Jathan was curious about what was happening when suddenly he felt the power. Not just the wind - a thick, warm weight of energy settled over him like an invisible blanket. His mind was instantly sharp; he was now energized and entirely without fear. And with the power came anger – righteous anger. Jathan, anxious moments ago, now longed to rush into the valley. Every one of the hunters was experiencing it, though it seemed to affect them differently. Beside Jathan, Dinak groaned from deep within himself, and his body shook in anger.

  Jathan had heard stories of God’s Spirit coming upon the Mighty Men of their people. Great feats of strength or bravery were performed by those upon whom the Spirit fell. Now he had experienced it himself.

  “The Spirit of God has been poured out!” Lethan exclaimed with wide-eyed glee. “Now, we fight!”

  Adam shook like an angry bull as the Spirit of God moved over him. He twirled his war hammer as joy radiated from his face. Mica fell to his knees, stunned. Loran was alternately laughing then pronouncing judgments against God’s enemies under his breath as his body trembled with energy.

  Seth’s body shook under the weight of the anointing, and for a few seconds, he was unable to move. As the divine impartation ended, Seth raised his hands high in adoration and breathed deeply.

  “The shadow of death is here – but I won’t back down! I won’t bend a knee! I fear no evil!” Seth proclaimed as he turned to his men, eyes ablaze with purpose. “Into the valley, brothers!”

  Seth began moving downhill rapidly, not at full pace, but with urgency. As he looked towards the stronghold, a very different picture now unfolded before him. It was as though they had just passed through a veil and could now see the fortress clearly. As Seth suspected, some Fallen sorcery deceived their human senses until now. Smoke could be seen coming from within the fortification. Small, winged creatures were taking the air above the stronghold and exiting the region. Strange sounds filled the air where only moments ago silence was observed. Several humanoid forms fled the open gate and ran around the fortress walls, disappearing into the north. Seth surmised they were part man and part animal, but they were too far away to be sure. The gray skies over the keep began to fade as the sunlight grew stronger.

  Seth could hear stones falling within the keep, big crashes echoing into the valley beyond. Presently, the gray haze would grow stronger for a moment, then suddenly the sunlight would regain strength and repel the dark skies. It was as though darkness and light were at war with each other.

  When they had reached the bottom of the path and began running up the long, low slope to the fortress, Seth felt the ground shake. And suddenly, it quaked again. And then the rumblings started to form a terrifying rhythm.

  “Stay close to me, Brother,” Seth said to Jathan as they ran.

  Seth knew something monstrous and terrible was about to come through the gate ahead. And Seth knew there was no way to really prepare his younger brother for what he was about to see.

  A massive humanoid form filled the gateway to the compound.

  Even though the fortress gate was twice the height of an ordinary man, the first giant stooped slightly to exit the fortress, followed by two more. The gargantuan soldiers walked in unison, with military precision, each step landing in thunderous unity.

  They called out as they marched.

  “HO! HA! HO! HA!” with each step, a thunderous, fear-inducing rhythmic cadence emanated from the Nephilim.

  They formed a line fifty paces from the fortress wall, daring the humans to come forward. Their eyes shined with bloodlust, and the sheer volume of their war cries was deafening. The Nephilim were magnificently armored, covered nearly head to toe in leather and metal. All three carried massive wooden shields reinforced with iron. Two carried spears while the center giant wielded a gigantic wooden club adorned with iron spikes. All three giants were pale-skinned, evidenced only by their faces and hands, the giant to the hunters’ left had black hair and beard. The remaining two had red hair, one bearded the other smooth-faced beneath his helmet. As they stopped, they beat their weapons against their shields in defiance.

  Jathan could not believe they were running headlong into these monsters. As the giants raged before them, Jathan felt a sudden wave of paralyzing fear. Jathan slowed and lost a step behind Seth, struggling to maintain his composure. As they closed in to spear range, Jathan saw arrows already sailing towards the giants.

  Think of home! Think of Mother!

  Thoughts of breakfast at home forced the fear into a deep corner of Jathan’s mind. As the fear faded, Adam’s son could still sense the wild energy that had been imparted by the Spirit of God. Emboldened, Jathan hurried to regain the steps he lost. His brother and his Chieftain would need him.

  The giants all bellowed in defiance, lifting their shields to defend against the incoming projectiles. While some arrows remained in their shields, Loran and Lethan were too experienced to be fooled by that simple a defense. The arrows were shot towards the face on purpose. The twins did this to buy Seth time to get into spear range.

  But Seth made a disconcerting observation as he got closer. Few of the arrows shot at their bodies seemed to penetrate at all, remaining stuck in the armor but not piercing it. Their armor was brilliantly fashioned, matching or exceeding their own level of craftsmanship. This made the already formidable creatures almost untouchable.

  “Burn them! Lethan to me!” Seth ordered. Immediately, the team changed positions. Lethan dropped his bow and took javelins from Dinak. Loran and Mica pulled back and began readying their projectile weapons.

  Seth prepared to launch a javelin at the central, red-haired giant. Seth first faked a throw, prompting the monster to raise his shield, then he threw his javelin. The thin, sharp projectile traveled underneath the shield and entered the giant’s upper thigh.

  The giant cried out in surprise more than pain.

  Seth smiled.

  First Blood!

  Jathan handed his brother another javelin. Seth moved unpredictably to avoid the enhanced reach of the giant, Jathan admirably keeping close to him. Lethan closed on Seth’s right. Dinak shifted behind him, serving as his shield-bearer. Lethan, javelins in each hand, began his own deadly dance with the giant on the right.

  Adam had pulled away from Seth and was moving directly towards the giant on the left. He shifted his hammer to his left hand and pulled his hood from over his head. Adam pointed directly to the dark-haired Nephilim and shouted to him.

  “You!”

  “Look at me, earth-born. I am Adam – come and meet the true Son of
the Earth!” Adam roared, demanding his attention.

  The giant bellowed in defiance, laughing aloud, shaking with laughter as his gaze left the ground. As it returned to the earth and the man before him, his expression changed. The Nephilim looked at Adam’s face, suddenly dropped his spear, and backed away a step.

  Adam threw his hammer, striking the giant’s knee. The black-haired nightmare stooped to grab the injury.

  Adam was running towards the giant at full pace.

  The giant’s body began to turn, his face now expressing uncertainty, even fear.

  Adam leaped, placed his left foot on the giant’s bent knee, and propelled himself upward, scaling the giant using his own leather weapon harness as a handhold. The giant shrieked hysterically before Adam rammed his right palm upward, pushing the giant’s lower jaw against the upper palate with a stunning crash. Adam, undeterred, climbed higher. The giant was hysterical with fear and unbelief, completely unable to respond effectively. It seemed to suddenly remember to remove his hands from his knees to dislodge the human. Adam swept the Nephilim’s helmet off his head, which the giant now flailed to retrieve. Adam’s feet were securely positioned on the top of the giant’s leather belt.

  Almost face to face with the Nephilim, Adam roared in anger and rage.

  “Not fair!” the Nephilim cried out like a petulant child.

  Adam drew his gloved hand back and slapped the giant across his monstrous mouth. Blood flew as the monster’s cheek was torn against two-rows of his own jagged teeth. The giant clumsily attempted to push Adam away. The First Man responded with a closed fist to the giant’s right orbital socket. Another cry of pain emerged from the giant as the metal studs affixed to Adam’s glove drew more blood.

  Adam deftly pushed away from the giant and dropped to his feet. He backed away two steps and retrieved his war hammer, then called an agitated Seepha to his side. Crouched and ready, he waited for the giant’s next move.

  The black-haired giant had now turned his back entirely to Adam and began running for the fortress gate. His companions were shocked but had little time for reflection upon his strange actions while they were dodging javelins from Seth and Lethan.

  The winged Fallen stood watching from the ramparts as the giant hurried towards the gate with Adam and Seepha in pursuit.

  Unseen by Adam, the angelic warrior that beckoned to Seth minutes earlier now appeared on the ramparts. The divine messenger locked eyes with the winged Fallen, daring him to move forward. As the Fallen backed away, the angelic warrior then seized the lever, which activated the gate mechanism and closed the fortress door with a crash.

  Seth was confident Adam could handle himself against any single giant alone, so the Chieftain of Har Shalem endeavored to buy time for Loran to do his work. Seth and Jathan engaged what had been the central giant while Lethan and Dinak attacked the giant to the right.

  He and Lethan dodged and moved swiftly, moving backward if needed, and attacking spontaneously with javelins. They desperately needed to stay out of the giant’s massive reach while Loran readied his weapons.

  Jathan could not believe how fast the giants were.

  Something their size should not move that quickly...

  As Jathan dodged and evaded, passing a javelin to Seth, he recalled their training in the armory about taking down a giant. He remembered Adam teaching soldiers how wolves take down large animals in the wild by attacking in a group. Jathan wished his pack had a few more wolves when he heard glass breaking to his right. He barely had time to glance away but saw the giant’s shield dripping with liquid. The distinctive smell of the accelerant filled Jathan’s nostrils.

  Loran loaded another Hellfire Globe into his sling and waited for his opportunity. He could effectively sling a projectile with one swinging motion. If time was available, a figure-eight movement was preferable for more velocity. Behind him, Mica readied a Hellfire Globe equipped with an igniter cloth. Loran needed to soak the giant with at least two globes to be effective, hoping to light him with the third. Suddenly Lethan dodged left, when Dinak also stepped left, Loran swung a figure-eight and sent the glass orb hurtling into the giant’s chest, breaking on the metal studs fixed to his chest armor. The biting smell of the accelerant grew stronger in the air.

  Seth and Lethan continued their furious whirl of taunts and feints. The warriors were a blur of movement as they dodged the swinging club or thrusting spear. Frustrated, the giants began stomping as they attacked with their weapons. One misstep would end a hunter’s life if they were caught beneath the immense spiked sandals of the Nephilim.

  Seth observed that the Nephilim reacted predictably, often repeating their movements. Seth suddenly called a coded verbal command to his son. Lethan pivoted and threw his javelin at Seth’s giant, piercing his thigh. Seth threw his weapon, piercing the shield arm of the giant opposite Lethan. Blood flowed freely as the hulking brutes wrenched the weapons out of their bodies. Dinak and Jathan handed more javelins to their champions as the mad dance continued. The giants screamed in rage, their frustration mounting.

  Seth smiled, finally sensing fear in their towering opponents.

  Loran opted for another Hellfire Globe without the ignition cloth, hoping to further soak the Nephilim before attempting to set him ablaze. The projectile whistled through the air, breaking on the top edge of the Nephilim’s shield and dousing the giant’s face with the liquid accelerant.

  In frustration, the giant flung his spear away, freeing a gargantuan hand to wipe his face and helmet. Lethan attempted to leap over the massive timber as it flew towards him. His body almost cleared the shaft, but the beam clipped his feet, sending his body spinning. Dinak took the force of the flying spear on his shield, knocking him backward.

  Inadvertently, the giant had finally found success against the swift humans. Lethan landed awkwardly and tried to recover his feet; he attempted to scramble backward but was too late. The giant lunged forward and scooped Lethan up in his right hand, lifting him off the ground.

  Lethan cried out in pain as the giant squeezed with his right hand. He cried out again, now in anger, and stabbed the giant in the neck with his javelin. The red-haired brute also grunted in pain but did not let go of the struggling human.

  Loran was ready to hurl a flaming globe at the giant but now stayed his hand. Igniting the giant with Lethan in his grip could be deadly to his brother.

  Seth heard his son’s cries of pain and rage.

  “Move back!” Seth called to Jathan.

  Seth lunged at his opponent with his spear, gashing the Nephilim’s leg near the knee. He hurled his spear at the giant’s face, which the monster easily deflected with his shield. Seth knew he could only buy a moment or two against a skilled opponent such as this one. Seth turned and ran towards the giant holding Lethan. He had only a few seconds before his own combatant would regroup and be upon him.

  Lethan was furiously kicking the Nephilim in the face, still stabbing frantically with his javelin, as the giant attempted to bring Lethan inward to crush his limbs in his teeth. Lethan counted two rows of jagged teeth when the giant opened his mouth. Frustrated from kicks and bleeding from stab wounds, the giant was about to throw Lethan to the ground and stomp him when the Seth closed the distance.

  Seth had drawn one sword from his back and leaped into the air, needing elevation to strike the giant’s arm. Seth brought his blade down near the elbow joint, slicing through the leather armor where it was thinnest. The blade did not cut deep, but it was effective. Seth smelled blood in the air, mixed with the stench of the giant himself and the accelerants from the Hellfire Globes. As Seth dropped to the ground, he heard the giant roar in pain and surprise.

  Seth sensed the presence of his former combatant closing on the left as Lethan was dropped from his giant’s grip. Seth, mindful the giant to his left had closed upon him, pushed Lethan backward into Dinak’s waiting hands. Seth could sense
the club arm of his giant was poised to strike. There was only enough time for one action, and Seth chose to aid his son rather than improve his position.

  Seth attempted to drop to the ground to evade the coming blow. He knew there was not enough time to be successful, but he did not regret helping Lethan. Time stood still as Seth braced himself for the impact. To his right, he heard glass breaking and felt a sudden rush of warm air. Blazing light exploded before his eyes as he also sensed the massive club closing behind him...

  The giant Lethan contended against had burst into flames! Loran’s final Hellfire Globe had ignited the massive red-haired giant after Lethan fell from the monster’s grasp.

  Seth felt the crushing impact, knew his feet had left the ground for a moment before he crashed into the earth. Seth was surprised he could still form a thought.

  Jathan was there.

  Jathan had disobeyed Seth’s order and remained behind Seth when he attacked Lethan’s giant. Placing himself between Seth and their Nephilim’s attack, Adam’s youngest son had absorbed the full force of the giant’s blow with his shield, and both men were taken off their feet and to the ground. Jathan’s heavy shield was shattered by the club’s impact. Adam’s youngest was stunned by the strike and could barely breathe.

  But a moment can change everything.

  In addition to saving Seth’s life, Jathan did two things at that instant that were of great consequence. Ignoring his considerable pain, he rose to his feet and hurled the shattered remains of his shield at the armored giant’s face in angry defiance. Then, seeing the giant’s club hover close by, leaped upon it, wrapping his arms and legs around the weapon.