The Last Refuge

by L. A. Blackburn

  Abruptly, the door opened and Isha appeared, attaching extra knives she found in the potter shop to her belt.

  “I’m ready,” she said flatly.

  “Nathan, which direction now?” asked Dodie.

  The young seer took out the star-cloth but didn’t understand what he saw.

  “The whole star is glowing. It doesn’t give a direction,” said Nathan with wonder. “What now?”

  “Just a moment, we have one thing more thing to try,” said Dodie. “Nathan, come here for a moment and give me your hands.”

  Dodie took a small book from his satchel and clasped Nathan’s hands around it,

  “Clear your mind. This is a guide-tome and will lead us to your goal, but only if you focus on the pure intent of your mission and nothing else,” said Dodie.

  “I’ll try,” said Nathan.

  Dodie whispered a short prayer, and the tract smoldered for a moment before it burst into a small flame. He quickly pulled his hands away and it floated about the room like some ancient soul until finally settling by the door.

  “The flame will move with us and can guide us to our destination. It will go only as fast as we do, but the further we are from each other the fainter it becomes. It also does not sense danger so we must be wary,” warned Dodie. “There is still a gigantic flesh-eater lurking out there, so there is the risk of it being seen and drawing the creature to us, but it’s all we can do.”

  When they open the door, a heavy mist met them, spreading through the streets like a gloom and dampening the sun above until only a dim haze remained. The guiding flame took a left down a side street and traveled in a northerly direction. The group moved as fast as they could, trying to keep an eye out for the creature while keeping their noise to a minimum. Once-beautiful homes passed them on both side, marked with painted design that was both simple and elegant. But now, they fell decaying with no sound other than the lonely wind. Nathan wondered to himself about the monster that lurked in the city. How could something so large, hide so well. It seemed impossible to him since each step the beast took shook the ground beneath their feet, and yet, it was no where to be found. As they progressed the street began to narrow, showing deep ruts in the stone pavement telling tales of the centuries of carts that must have traveled there. At length, they came upon a gateway with imposing wooden doors bound with iron and set fast with large iron hinges. The guiding fire flitted though the gap in the gate leaving the group to wonder about the other side. Hanoch scouted ahead, slowly pushing the gate open until a crack appeared large enough for him to spy through. Motioning for the others to follow, he silently pushed the gate open and slid through the opening with cat-like swiftness. They passed the gate into a large enclosed area that must have held several hundred people at once. Assorted rubble lay about the area and cracked pillars leaned on each other in disarray like drunken soldiers in formation.

  “Look at this,” exclaimed Nathan, as he pointed at the enormous structure before him. “It looks like a worship area.”

  Even in its poor condition, the grandeur that it held was not completely lost as its tall, dark doors gleamed. Regretfully, the heavy haze had burned away in the light of the midday sun and left them completely exposed to discovery. Nathan stood before the structure, squinting at the words engraved in the stone far above. “I can’t make out the writing.”

  Curiosity pulled Nathan to the gates under the protest of Dodie and Isha. It just didn’t feel right and something about the entire city felt familiar to him but in a curious way like he’d been there before. The guiding flame had vanished and one guess was as good as any, so, Nathan felt no harm in a peek inside the temple area. Carefully walking to the gates, he pushed, but the ancient barriers did not give. Putting his back to the gate, he dug his heels in and pushed until he was out of breath.

  “What are you doing?” yelled Dodie.

  His face twisted in a look of startled alarm as he sprinted across the enclosure. But just before he reached Nathan, the great door gave way as the hinges screeched from centuries of rust, and braking free, sprawled Nathan on his back into a courtyard. The tomewright froze in his tracks as the gate swung free, revealing no building, but an enormous creature standing beyond the gateway. Laying flat on his back in frozen panic, he looked up into the bulbous eyes of the reptilian Behemoth as its great dagger-sharp teeth dripped greedily onto the ground next to him. The creature appeared confused by the number of prey in its area. It turned its great, elongated head from side-to-side causing the neck muscles to ripple like cords of iron. Striding forward on two huge legs, the creature walked in the manner of a ground bird but much slower and with lumbering effect. Its broad tale whipped side to side like a horizontal tree, tossing rubble in all directions. Its dwarfish front legs clutched spasmodically in the air as if grasping some unknown prey. The tall, fan-like protrusion, jutting from its back was covered with skeletons of its victims like a grisly crown of death. Dodie, with his back to a pillar, failed to see the monster until its footsteps shook the ground around him. He turned to meet the creature, but froze momentarily. Isha knocked him out of the way just before the snapping jaws of the creature would have cleaved him in two at the shoulders. Turning, the creature gave a thunderous roar that made their very bones vibrate.

  “Nathan, get up,” shouted Isha as she pulled knives for each hand.

  The creature turned incredibly fast for something so big and circled back for another attack. Scrambling to his feet, Nathan ran to Dodie’s side as Hanoch and Isha stood between them and the monster. Just then, the creature circled around behind Nathan. Isha hurled two knives at its throat. They struck home on the rock hard scales with a clink and fell helplessly to the ground. This only succeeded in making the creature angry, so it charged toward her.

  “What in the fiery pit is that think made of,” yelled Isha as she pulled more knives into play.

  “Aim for the eyes,” shouted Hanoch, retrieving one of Isha’s knives from the ground.

  Spinning with the grace of an acrobat, he threw the knife, sending it hissing through the air to strike home in the left eye of the monster. Isha, following his example, threw her blade with no less accuracy into the right, effectively blinding the creature and sending it thrashing in a fit of anger and pain. Its tail barely missed Nathan’s head, as the rubble it threw became a hazard unto itself. Fleeing the danger of the enclosure, they retreated into the temple courtyard followed by the beast. They took shelter in the standing columns that surrounded the temple area itself, hoping that lack of motion may throw the beast off guard. Nathan surveyed the area for escape, and a strange feeling of familiarity came over him that shook his concentration for a moment. The monster sniffed the air and upon catching even the faintest hint of its prey, would charge in that direction, smashing anything in its path whether wood, flesh or stone. More than once, Dodie and Isha took a piece of flying stone to the head, stunning them for a moment as they ran for cover closely followed by the sniffing monster.

  “Make for the temple! The entry is too small for it to follow,” shouted Nathan.

  “What are you talking about,” said Isha.

  Shocked, Nathan looked into the confused faces of his comrades to see the truth in what they said. They truly didn’t see anything.

  “Hanoch, don’t you see the temple over there,” said Nathan as he pointed, but the young Venger simply shook his head. “You have to trust me. It’s there – I see it!”

  This thought drove cold spikes of fear through Nathan’s reason. Was he seeing things, or was there actually something there? He had to be right, or they would all be out in the open. Nevertheless, there was no other choice. It was only a matter of time before flying fragments put one of them down. With this in mind, he motioned for them to follow as he grabbed Isha’s hand and ran for the temple as fast as his shaking legs would move. Dodie came quickly after them, but lost sight of both Hanoch and the monster. The truth of it set in when their hands felt the side of a solid structure, but to t
heir eyes, they appeared to be pushing against thin air.

  “Amazing,” Dodie retorted.

  “Be amazed later, keep an eye out for the creature,” Isha quickly added.

  Nathan led them down the side of the building to the doorway, but the door would not budge.

  “It must be locked,” gasped Nathan.

  “Here, out of the way,” snapped Isha pushing him aside. “I don’t need to see it to pick a lock.”

  As she opened the door with her knife, Hanoch appeared around the corner of the temple, sprinting as fast as his feet would move with the Behemoth in close pursuit a few paces behind him. Quickly, they poured through the doorway as Hanoch dove for the opening, making it just before the creature struck the side of the temple with its enormous head. The walls shook with the thunder of the impact, shaking dust from the ceiling in light ribbons that fell into their eyes. They were safe, but trapped. Dodie used a glow-tome to light the area and scanned the room in the radiance of its yellow glow.

  “This is a storage chamber,” he said, noticing the various pots and silver platters that lined the shelves that ran the length of the glittering gold covered walls. Their eyes traveled back-and-forth across the gilded surfaces in complete amazement until Isha broke the wonderment.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “Whatever we do, we’d best find a torch and soon,” answered Dodie.

  Nathan eyed the wall opposite them and spotted the outline of a doorway. Carefully opening the portal, he gazed beyond the sill into the room beyond.

  “It’s this way,” said Nathan.

  “How can you be so sure?” questioned Dodie.

  “I’m sure,” said Nathan.

  “Hanoch, scout ahead if you please,” Dodie said.

  Hanoch nodded, took the glow-tome and crept into the darkness of the area beyond. Several minutes passed before the dim light of the glow-tome radiated the doorway. Hanoch entered the room holding a torch, handed the tome to Dodie and crouched in the corner as sweat dripped from his face.

  “Several connected chambers like this one appear to go around the outside of the temple, however, eight chambers down the way, the door is blocked by something very heavy,” said Hanoch.

  “Let’s have a look,” said Nathan with anticipation.

  He’d always loved the tales of ancient cities, and now that he felt the stones of one, could hardly contain himself. This became a matter of worry for Dodie, who had seen his share of ancient ruins. To him, they smelled of danger, injury and death. So, in spite of his love for the ancient, he was less than excited about being in the ancient city. They came to the door Hanoch mentioned, pushing hard against the door, it stood firm in spite of even Isha’s considerable strength. Nathan caught his breath for a moment and leaned against the wall. Suddenly, it gave way under his weight, dumping bricks, dust and Nathan into the main temple chamber.

  “Well done my boy!” shouted Dodie, his voice echoing off the walls of the main chamber.

  Dusting off his cloths, Nathan stood to his feet but wasn’t prepared for what met his gaze. The light shimmered over two massive, gold covered doors at the far end of the chamber. Even from where he stood, Nathan had to bend his neck toward the ceiling to see where the doors stopped. Nearby, a large winged statue of gold towered above him from the other side of the chamber while its mate on the opposite side had fallen and cracked the inner wall where they entered the chamber. It appeared that the collapsed statue blocked their way through the other chambers. But in spite of its condition, it still dazzled the eye. They all entered the chambers wide-eyed and in awe of the splendor of its sparkling beauty. For the first time, Hanoch’s expression did not have its customary dullness, but instead, held a look of complete astonishment.

  “What man conceived such beauty,” said Isha.

  “No man, no man whatsoever,” said Dodie with a quiver in his voice.

  The true amazement for Nathan was his realization that he knew these statutes as well as the inner workings of this temple, but the revelation was more than he could accept. From all accounts in his memory, it was clear to him that this temple followed the plan of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed long ago. The very thought made his hands shake with nervous tension and, sensing his hesitation, Isha moved to his side.

  “What’s the matter, we’re safe now,” she assured him

  “No, we’re not,” Nathan shot back. “This place, this temple, it shouldn’t be here. It’s impossible.”

  “You know of this place,” said Isha taking in finely detailed works of gold that adorned every aspect of the chamber. She ran her hands down the intricate overlays on the walls and her admiration drew her to two great doors at the opposite end of the chamber. They dwarfed her in size and reminded her somewhat of Jeru Bridge but the workmanship was far different. These doors appeared crafted with even more skill than the rest of the chamber and when she approached, a low pitched rumble came from under the door along with dim flashes of light. Involved in admiration of his own, Nathan failed to notice Isha approaching the doors of the inner chamber.

  “It reminds me of something I read,” Nathan absently said under his breath, recalling the descriptions of the ancient temple in Jerusalem from long ago.

  Nathan called out to her but it was too late. As she touched the enormous doors of the inner chamber, they shook on their hinges and suddenly swung inward, flapping like shutters in a strong breeze in spite of their size. A thunderous roar echoed through the chamber as the air within the temple whirled about them like a tornado, making the walls vibrate with the force and pulling them toward the inner chamber. Currents of air tugged at Isha’s small frame, pulling her feet from the floor as she gripped the handle and dug her nails into the door for dear life.

  “What’s happening,” said Dodie, as he struggled to keep his feet in the raging gale inside the temple.

  The wind began heaving them toward the inner chamber, and as they drew near, Nathan saw two enormous angelic statues facing each other at the far end. Between the statues swirled a vortex of fire and dark cloud with flashes of lightening bursting from within. The sight of it struck terror in his soul as he slid across the floor towards it. Hanoch and Dodie had managed to brace themselves against two columns within the temple but Nathan stood in the middle of the open floor when the whirlwind began. Slowly, his body slid feet first across the floor toward the inner chamber, with him clawing fruitlessly at the floor trying to stop his advance. At one point, he drew close enough to look up into Isha’s frightened face. She reached her hand toward him and he to her, but it was too far for them to do anything but touch. Abruptly, a burst pulled him from the floor into the air, sucking him into the inner chamber as the great vaulted doors slammed shut, bringing the whirlwind to an immediate stop. The closing momentum of the great doors threw Isha clear sending her sprawling across the floor like a rag doll. Dodie ran to the doors and pulled on the handles, but they did not budge to his effort. Isha and Hanoch joined his attempt, but the large vaulted doors of the inner chamber did not budge and no sound came from inside. Pounding her fists on the outside of the doors, Isha called to Nathan, but utter silence was her only answer. She would have continued her assault, but Elhan and Dodie finally pulled her away with her knuckles swollen and bleeding.

  “Let me go. I promised Agabus I’d never leave him,” she cried.

  “You’ve done what you could, my girl,” said Dodie, looking into her tear-filled eyes. “His fate is with Elyon now, as it always is with every seer. He goes where we can’t, to get answers to questions we can’t ask.”

  Without warning, the door began to shimmer with a golden light that began inching around the edges of the portal, spreading throughout the seams of the access itself. They watched in amazement, backing away several feet as they observed the event. After a moment, the glowing ceased and sunlight came from underneath the doorway. Elhan approached with caution, putting a careful hand underneath the door and feeling the caress of a gentle
breeze on his fingertips. He gave a silent nod of assurance as he put his hands on the handles and pulled. The massive doors silently swung inward, opening onto the fields before the gates of Ariel. As they passed through the portal, the temple behind them vanished and the crew found themselves standing in front of the gates of Ariel with Skull’s Field stretching out before them.

  Twenty-Seven

  “Dirty Covers…”

  Leaving Nathan and Isha left a bad taste in Elhan’s mouth since he wasn’t one to leave a comrade. But, he had no other choice. Soldiers appeared in the Pelan temple district looking for something, or someone, almost the moment Isha and Nathan vanished between the buildings. Their chain mail glinted in the sun as they searched each street, careful to check every inch of the building.

  “I’ve had enough of this,” said Elhan as he took his axe in hand. “Make a run for it and I’ll give account for myself.”

  “Stand and fight, stand and fight. You sound like a mocking crow. Is that all you know? I may have another way,” smiled Jackabo. “Follow me.”

  Jackabo and Sapha led Elhan through a series of streets, making note of each turn and keeping a close eye on the soldiers as they progressed. Finally, they came to a section of the outer wall when, suddenly, a straggling soldier spotted them darting behind some overgrown shrubs and called out to his unit.

  “They’re over here,” he bellowed.

  “This would be a good time to hurry,” said Sapha.

  Carefully, Jackabo counted the bricks on the wall in an apparent bid for lunacy.

  “We’re about to be in it,” hissed Elhan, when abruptly, a look of satisfaction came across Jackabo’s face and he threw a backward smile to his companions.

  “Awe, here it is,” he slipped his hand into a hole between two oblong stones, pushing the spring that swept away part of the wall with a rumbling of stone, revealing the passage within. “Quick, inside.”