“You look like you saw a ghost,” Much-Afraid said.
“No, no ghost. A voice spoke to me in the king’s kingdom.”
I brooded whenever I started to doubt. Waves of despair washed over me. The Hall of Darkness wanted to hold me captive. I was determined to resist.
“Come quickly,” Worldly Crow urged. “Hurry.” He blended into a ghastly-looking tree.
“Are you sure this isn’t a trap?”
“I’m taking you to the king. That is what you want, right?”
“Yes.”
“The vulture said they have the king.”
Graves opened and underlings rode the four winds that rustled through the trees. In the high places and the low places, the vultures squeaked and squawked. The shadows deepened and all light departed from the living.
A dozen vultures flew towards us and landed in a palm dressed up like a scarecrow. My hands were cold, barely warmed by Cherios’s body. My heart pounded and I labored to breathe.
Underlings ran out of the cave and hissed. Two of the bat-like creatures grabbed me on each side, forcing me off Baruch and squeezing my arms.
“Let go. You’re hurting me,” I cried.
Their constant laughter and taunting drowned out my pleas.
They took us inside a damp and dark cave where the vile creatures ripped me from my friends. I didn’t know where the others were being led. The sinewy birds yanked me to a martyr’s stone and bound my hands and feet with a thick, scratchy rope. I couldn’t move. In a distant chamber, sharp cries pieced the silence.
“Tis the night,” one vulture shouted, and others chimed in. Their chants increased and they flew about me in an irregular circular pattern. Their mockery of my capture seemed like perverted foolishness.
I shut my eyes to avoid seeing the terrifying display, but their extended screams were harder to ignore. I cried out, but fear muffled my words. Every time a wing flapped near me, I cringed. The cold draft sent chills down my arms and legs.
I squirmed within the bindings but they dug deeper into my skin. Something touched me from behind. More shape shifters appeared, like bats without a body, spiritual beings somewhere between a gas and a liquid. My cold hands lost all feeling. I gulped in the damp air.
The underlings laughed and hissed. Shadows swung back and forth like the cartoon characters on my bedroom walls. A creature smacked me again and again from behind. The shape shifter laughed. “Look behind you,” he said.
“I can’t. The bindings are too tight.”
“Bring the prisoners before her,” he demanded.
A demon stepped forward and thrust a terrified creature in front of me. The battered animal landed at my feet.
“Cherios,” I cried.
Her sad eyes ripped at my heart.
“Make her talk,” the underling demanded. “Come on, show us. Animals can’t talk.”
“Yes, they can,” I said.
“You’re powerless here,” the underling hissed. The taunting continued. Cherios stared at the dirt floor.
“Bring the next one.”
The shape shifters released Much-Afraid and she squirmed across the floor to me. Her warm tongue on my toes tingled like a healing balm from the king.
The dark powers regrouped. “The dumb animals can’t talk anymore,” a demon shouted. Others chimed, “Death to Shale, death to the animals, and death to their king.”
“Tell them your secret,” another one demanded. “You’re bad, Shale Snyder.”
The circle of demons expanded. Even in the darkness, I could still see a little. The underlings grew bigger and more powerful as they fed on my fear. I prayed for light.
Baruch heehawed.
“Kick him,” one of the demons demanded.
“I’ll never kick Baruch,” I fired back.
“Kick him. We know what you do to animals,” another one hissed.
Baruch’s eyes bulged. He whinnied and ducked his head. Much-Afraid cowered pawing at the dirt. Was Cherios still alive?
If only the king could rescue us, if only he were here. The vultures tricked Worldly Crow. Where were all those followers who sat on the hills and listened to the king?
Jeers went up from the demons. They shouted, “The battle is over, we have won, the tables are turned, redemption spurned.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
The Battle
Orchestrated invisible drums beat like an Indian battle cry.
The leader of the demons slithered into the cave. His bat wings spanned the walls of the cave. He held in his claws The Book of Remembrance.
“Our latest trophy.” The underlings gathered around the flat stone where I sat bound in ropes. Round and round they circled me chanting curses and snorting a potion. The nefarious spirits soured my stomach and their evilness rattled my nerves, but I wouldn’t give in. I was a daughter of the king.
Hate stabbed at my soul and the weight of evil wanted to overwhelm me. I resisted. I remembered the weight of glory. The underlings chanted louder. They desired my soul. I remembered what the king said.
“Do not fear, for you are more valuable than many sparrows.”
I fell through a dark hole into a bottomless pit. I quoted the words of the king again. “Do not fear those which kill the body, but can’t kill the soul. Rather, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Their guffaws drowned out my words. I must not let anger or fear control me. The demons were the Olympians of hate.
Their noxious breath made me nauseous. I turned away. I tried to loosen my hands but the ropes burned my wrists. Cruel images tormented my mind.
“Hate,” they chanted.
I cried out to the king. “Deliver me from evil, for you are the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever.”
Their chants continued.
The demons’ dark magic revealed a hallway full of kids. A boy with a Braves cap covering his eyes came up from behind me. He snuck in front of a student. I felt his fingers where they shouldn’t be. I turned around to face him—Judd laughed at me. I hated him—no. Anger welled up inside of me—no. I became depressed every time I hated him. Deep within my heart, I remembered the words of the king and his love for me. I remembered his command and recited the words by heart, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
The king’s words grew inside of me, words gushing forth from my heart as I needed them. Then I realized, the demons didn’t want to kill me. They wanted to possess me— like the cemetery man. They needed a body.
Much-Afraid cried out, “I love you.”
Cherios hopped up on a stone slab and gazed at me with her trusting brown eyes. “I love you, too,” she said. “Keep saying the words of the king.”
For a tiny moment, the demons seemed disoriented. A flash of light skimmed across the cave ceiling.
“So the little rabbit loves you, huh?” an underling mocked.
The bat-like creatures gathered around me displaying needle-like stingers that protruded from their midsection. They wanted to sting me on my legs or arms. I tried to avoid the stingers, but one still stung my leg. I felt a twinge of pain, but the sensation disappeared—miraculously. Then I couldn’t catch my breath. It was as if I had fallen into a cold spring and had the wind knocked out of me.
The underlings chanted again, “Death to the animals, death to Shale, she belongs in hell.”
Ice tentacles crept up from my hands into my shoulders. I shivered. How much longer could I take this torment?
“Don’t give in,” Much-Afraid cried out. “Hold on. Don’t believe their lies. Remember the words of the king.”
Baruch whinnied and tried to bolt, but he was tethered to the wall. A demon flashed a sword at him. He screamed, but when the sword landed on him, it bounced off, not even piercing his skin.
“Forget the donkey, he’s not who we want,” another demon shouted.
The underlings gathered around me. They
untied the rope but two still held me on each side. The demons took me to a darkened archway. The hallway was long and became narrower as we neared the end. On the other side, a door opened to mysterious stairs, but once I stood at the top, I knew where I was.
“Bring the animals to the front,” the head demon demanded.
Baruch, Cherios, and Much-Afraid stood beside me. Their eyes questioned me.
“Tell them what you see, Shale. What is at the bottom of the stairs?”
I refused to look.
“Look,” the demon demanded.
“No.”
“Look now or you can watch your friends die a slow death.”
Momentary fear swept across their faces.
“Please don’t harm them.”
The demon holding Cherios quipped, “We’re waiting.”
A theatrical scene began. I stood at the top of the stairs with Fifi under my arm. My mother’s iPhone was in my hand. As I stepped down the stairs, I texted a message. Fifi squirmed. I tried to catch him before he slipped, but he knocked the iPhone out of my hand. I reached out to catch it—more afraid I’d break the iPhone than hurt the dog. I had taken the iPhone from Mother without asking.
I missed the step and fell, dropping the dog. The iPhone bounced on the steps. I fell on top of Fifi. He yelped and flopped down a couple more. I fell forward and knocked him again. He rolled the rest of the way. My ankle twisted underneath me and I couldn’t move, except to fall head-first. I braced myself to avoid hitting my face. At the bottom of the stairs, Fifi lay motionless.
He opened his mouth gasping for breath—air that never came. His eyes were still open. I picked up his still, warm body and cradled him. Tears streamed from my eyes.
What had I done? I killed Judd’s puppy—all to keep from breaking my mother’s iPhone. How could I tell anyone it was an accident when I had been so foolish?
I tore my eyes away from the horrific scene to face my friends— Baruch, Much-Afraid, and Cherios.
“I didn't mean to. It was an accident.”
“It’s Fifi,” Cherios said.
How did Cherios know his name? The few seconds that passed seemed like forever. Why did the demons reveal my shame? It was enough I did it and was unable to forgive myself.
The demons set Cherios down, untied Baruch, and released Much-Afraid.
The underlings continued to accuse me. “She deceived all of you.”
I shouted back. “I made a mistake. That doesn’t make me bad.”
The underlings became silent. Then the chants began again. The more hate-filled their words, the bigger they became.
The king’s power filled my mind. Goose bumps tingled from my heart and spread. A warm light pierced the cold darkness and the oppression lifted.
“Yes, you’re right. I’m nothing more than a worm, like that worm lying on the sidewalk that Judd wanted to crush. There’s nothing good inside me except that which was put there by the king. Just as I rescued that worm from his tormenter, my king will rescue me, too, and crush your head. The king promised, “If you forgive others, your heavenly father will also forgive you. I am forgiven.”
Cherios smiled from ear to ear. Much-Afraid nodded.
“Yes, Shale. You know the king,” Cherios said.
Baruch’s eyes glistened—no longer with mournful tears but grateful praise.
Magical stirrings from deep within bubbled forth and overflowed. Freedom beckoned me.
The biggest demon jeered, “The king is dead.”
Others chanted and danced. “The king is dead, the king is dead, the underlings will rule instead.”
I countered their lies, “He’ll always live in my heart. You can’t hurt me anymore.” I quoted the king again. “There is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear.”
My shouts of praise to the king overcame their chants. Suddenly, the demons began to shrink—smaller and smaller they became, right before my eyes. As the underlings shrunk, they underwent a metamorphosis.
“Join with me,” I shouted to my animal friends, “in praises to the king.”
We sang our own song and drowned out theirs. “Blessed be the king forever and ever.”
They shrank smaller and smaller and we grew larger and larger. Soon the underlings had shape shifted into nothing more than puny snakes. Even though they hissed, their voices became as a little mouse’s before a taunting cat.
I raised my hands in praise to the king. “To whom be the glory for ever and ever. You can’t hurt me any longer, for I know who I am. I am a princess—a daughter of the king.”
Joy flowed through my veins. We had conquered hate with love! Then something tragic happened.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Secrets of the Garden
Cherios was hopping on the ledge celebrating when a snake lashed out and struck her down. She screamed and fell, landing at my feet. I scooped her in my arms, much as I had held Fifi after he died. Cherios’s eyes seemed far away and her breathing was labored.
“Don’t die, Cherios, you mustn’t,” I cried. “I—I love you too much. No!” Much-Afraid and Baruch ran up to me, as the tiny vipers raced off in the darkness. My heart was broken.
“What should we do?” I cried.
“Is she still alive?” Baruch asked.
“Barely,” I sniffled. “Cherios, can you hear me?”
Cherios forced her eyes open one last time. “I’d die for you anytime because I love you so much.”
“No, Cherios, you mustn’t die,” I cried. “No.”
“Take me to the garden,” Cherios whispered, “to the apple tree.”
“What?” I asked. “What do you mean, the garden and the apple tree?”
“To the garden when we arrived,” Baruch said. “She’s a garden bunny. She wants to go home.”
We stood alone. Nothing held us back from escaping. The demons fled when we defeated them with the king’s love. Suddenly faraway sounds echoed through the narrow passages—what might it be but another demon?
I held Cherios in my arms afraid to breathe. A strong body walked out of the dark hole behind us. I was too shocked to speak.
Daniel’s eyes met mine. “Shale, what are you doing here?”
“How did you find me?”
“I could read your mind—terrifying images. I told you before, the next time I wouldn’t delay. I hurried here as fast as I could.” Daniel surveyed the dark cave. “Are you okay?”
“I think so, but Cherios isn’t. We must get her back to the garden, but I don’t know the way.”
“I know,” Baruch said. “We need to go to the olive garden in Jerusalem.”
“We need to go to the olive garden in Jerusalem,” I repeated for Daniel. “That’s where Cherios asked to be buried.”
“You mean the Garden of Gethsemane?” Daniel stared at me in disbelief. “You don’t want to go there. Violence erupted there the other night. They captured that supposed king while he was praying and took him to Pontius Pilate. After beating the man, the Roman guards sent him to the high priest. The Sanhedrin put him on trial and found him guilty of blasphemy. He was crucified.”
Daniel shook his head. “The place is crawling with guards. There are stories about him returning from the dead. The last place you want to go is to that garden. You should bury her here somewhere instead.”
“So he was killed?”
“They placed a sign over his crucifixion, ‘King of the Jews.’”
I sobbed.
Daniel hugged me tightly. “I’m sorry, Shale.”
I lowered my eyes and wrapped Cherios in my arms. Her body was still warm. What else could go wrong? I didn’t want to risk being caught. Daniel draped his arm over my shoulders and directed me back to the entrance.
“Daniel, we have to take her to the olive garden.”
“If that is what you must do, we better hurry and do it before daylight.” Daniel shook his head. “I can’t believe how you get me into these situations.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Let’s go.”
Daniel patted me on the shoulder reassuringly.
I couldn’t talk. My voice was stuck deep down in my throat.
We left the cave in surreal darkness. Everywhere were underlings—on top of the mountains, hiding behind trees, rising from the crevasses. Their rancid smell turned my stomach. I imagined graves opening and demons escaping that would torture me again.
Before we reached the garden, I panicked. “Daniel, there weren’t any apple trees in the garden. There were olive trees and thorns and a wolf.”
“Why would Cherios tell you to take her to the apple tree in the garden if there wasn’t an apple tree there?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t know.”
“She dumped the apple core on the ground when she popped out of the knapsack,” Baruch said. “Remember, she apologized for eating my apple.”
“That was how long ago?” I asked.
“What?” Daniel couldn’t understand the donkey.
“Baruch said she ate his apple. It’s been, what, three years? Maybe an apple tree grew from the seed. It’s been long enough.”
We traveled over the rough terrain, not saying anything else for a while. The full moon rose overhead and began its descent as we passed through the Kidron Valley.
When we arrived, a guard was posted and the garden was closed. Since when did gardens need a guard?
Daniel whispered to me. “I’ll distract the guard so you can sneak past. I’ll follow you later. Okay?”
I nodded. Daniel approached the man, and once the guard’s back was turned, I snuck all of us in—Baruch, Much-Afraid, Cherios, and myself. Now we would have to search for the tree. Cherios’s lifeless body was getting colder. I worried we were too late to save her. If so, I wanted to bury her as soon as possible.
“Look over there.” Baruch pointed to a tree—one lone apple tree in a thicket of olive trees.
“I can’t believe it, Baruch.” The apple tree stood about seven feet tall. Bright red apples covered the branches and appeared delicious even in the dim light from the moon. Something about it seemed odd—the tree didn’t belong. How would Cherios have known the tree was here?
The Door Page 18
