Eve of Redemption (33 page)

“What happened to you in there?” Kyle asked. He remained on the floor, pressed against the wall.

“What do you mean?”

“When we were fighting the Horde. You’ve never fought like that before. No one’s ever fought like that before.”

“I…” Sara paused, not sure what to say.

“Your sword was glowing. What you did in there wasn’t natural.”

“I’m not sure. When I witnessed my parents’ deaths, something happened. Some kind of power jumped from my mom to me. I thought it was just part of the vision, but now?” She shrugged. “I felt so strong, invincible. Like nothing could stop me.” She looked around their cell. “Guess I was wrong.”

“We never had a chance. Their numbers were too great.”

“We still don’t know what’s going on,” she said again, changing the subject.

“Well, we do know a little more,” Kyle said. “We know the Horde has invaded the Keep and are no doubt responsible for the attack on Master Casius and the death of Sam.”

“Poor Sam. I can’t believe he’s dead,” Sara said. “Wait a minute. Sam! I’d almost forgotten.”

“Almost forgotten what?”

“The scroll. The one you took from his hand. Do you still have it?”

Kyle reached into his jacket and pulled out the small scroll. He peered at it, as though uncertain what to do with it. “It might not mean anything.”

Sara shrugged. “It might, though.” She reached out for it, and, after a slight pause, he handed it to her. As she had noted earlier, it was small—only about six inches wide. It appeared ancient and had been sealed with wax, which she found curious. Had it never been opened? Or had it been read and sealed again? The seal looked old, and the ornate markings embedded in it were unfamiliar. She broke the seal and unrolled the scroll until she could see the opening words. She scanned the ancient text, recognizing the archaic form of speech but still finding it difficult to understand.

“What’s it say?” Kyle asked.

Sara read a couple more lines before answering. “I think it’s about the first war with the Horde of El-Shaddai.” She looked up. “That was almost 1,600 years ago.”

Kyle nodded. “So say the histories. Keep reading.”

“It says the leaders of the Horde were the Sons of El-Shaddai.” She looked up at Kyle again. “I’ve never heard of any Sons of El-Shaddai, have you?”

He shook his head. “No, that’s a new one to me. Maybe it means priests or some sort of religious leader.”

“That makes sense. El-Shaddai’s priests
would
have the egos to call themselves sons of god. Another reason to hate them.”

Kyle smirked. “What, you needed another one? The fact that the followers of El-Shaddai have spent the better part of the last two millennia trying to subjugate mankind wasn’t enough?”

Sara heard anger rising in the young man’s voice and went back to reading the scroll. She didn’t like what the dark religion had done to the world any better than he did, but storming over it right now would do little to get them out of their mess. “Listen to this, ‘We managed to evade the demon Horde and survive in the mountains. Threescore of us struggled to live off the rugged land, but live we did. We created our own community so isolated from the outside world that the minions of the dark god remained unaware of our existence. Then one remarkable day, Eve appeared to us. To behold Eve was to behold a daughter of the gods.’” Sara paused. “Hmm…now we have a daughter of the gods to go with the sons. This is getting weirder and weirder.”

“Interesting, though. Keep reading.” Kyle shifted his position on the floor and leaned in closer.

“Okay, where was I? ‘Eve, however, did not take to the gods, nor did she believe they held sway over humankind. From Eve we discovered we were not the only community to survive the attack of the dark god. Eve had traveled the region, teaching the rudiments of what she called
earth power.
Some called Eve a witch, but none could doubt her power, nor her desire to rid the world of El-Shaddai and his followers.’”

“I wonder why we were never taught about this Eve?”

Sara shrugged. “It may just be some story. Besides, if she was using some power other than that given by Ash-Shaytan, she probably was a witch.”

“Oh, it’s true, all right. And a witch she was.” They both jumped to their feet at the voice.

“Who said that?” Kyle shouted. “Where are you?”

“Where I am,” said the scratchy, high-pitched voice, “is in the cell across from you. I’ve been listening to your talk and wondering just where you found that scroll you read from.”

Sara thought the man’s voice sounded familiar, but the thick door muffled it, making it difficult to identify. “My friend asked who you are. You didn’t answer him.”

The man’s cackle seemed to echo in their tiny cell. “You don’t know me? You should, Sara Burke. After all, I brought you to the Keep after your parents were called to duty.”

“Master Yarna?” Sara could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Master Yarna, is that you?”

“Of course it’s me, child. I wondered how long it would be until I was found. I must admit, though, your imprisonment gives me little confidence in being rescued.”

Again he cackled, sending a chill down Sara’s spine.
He sounds half mad.
“You disappeared over a year ago. Everyone said you were called to the front. You couldn’t have been here all along?”

“Here, there, everywhere,” the old master said in a sing-song voice. “Time and place have little meaning here, as you will learn—if you live that long. Now, about that scroll you read from, where did you come across it?”

Sara glanced at Kyle, who shook his head. “Master Casius gave it to us,” she said.

“Casius gave it to you, did he? Oh, I doubt that, child. I doubt it very much.”

“Much has changed since you disappeared,” Kyle said.

“Changed, has it? Yes, I guess it has. And you must be young Kyle, eh? Tell me, have you won her heart yet?” Again the old master laughed.

Sara looked over at Kyle, whose face turned bright red. “What’s he talking about?”

“Nothing,” Kyle said. “Don’t listen to him. He’s gone crazy down here.”

“Crazy I am, but much I know,” Master Yarna said from beyond the door. “However you came by the scroll, young Sara, it does not surprise me that it is you to whom the knowledge came.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sara asked. “What does any of this have to do with me?”

“Read on, young Sara, read on. All that is in that scroll is true, if only you believe.”

Sara looked back at the scroll and began reading again. “For two years, Eve trained and comforted the ragged men and women of what she now referred to as
the clans
. Finally, the time came for us to leave our communities of refuge and rally under the banner of Eve. By this time she owned the heart of everyone in the clans, and we loved her like she was our Mother Savior. Eve led us into battle, but, while we held our own against the masses of the Horde, man is still no match for a god. In a blazing show of power, El-Shaddai annihilated three quarters of our forces in one burst of anger. While the rest of us shrank away in terror, only Eve stood her ground.

“We watched in awe as Mother Savior approached the mountain of the dark god. Though not much taller than a normal woman, that day Eve appeared as a goddess herself. Her radiance was like the sun, her power so fierce as to be felt for miles. Alas, for all her power, she was not a god. She knew she could not win. We watched in horror as the light of the Mother Savior faded, her power stilled. We wanted to run to her rescue when she was swarmed by the Horde masses, but we were weak. We watched as she was dragged away into the mountain. It is said that her torture went on for days. Thank the gods we did not know this at the time; we would not have been able to stand the guilt. We barely managed to keep from destroying ourselves when we heard. For a full week, the demon Horde celebrated the capture and death of the great Eve, even as her faithful followers mourned.

“Then, on the seventh day, a great earthquake shook the land. Mountains fell and forests vanished as the world shifted. And from the destruction, Eve arose…” Sara looked up at Kyle. “I’m getting goose bumps just reading this. True or not, it’s an awesome story.”

“Yeah. That Eve was something.”

“There’s not much left. ‘And Eve arose, radiant with the power of Ash-Shaytan himself. Her wrath was terrible as she stalked the land, incinerating the enemy with her blazing eyes. The army of the dark god fled in terror, streaming into the portal from which they had entered our land. But Eve closed both ends of the portal, trapping the Horde in the darkness of the Void. When the chaos ended, Eve disappeared. The Holy Fathers say that one day the Horde of El-Shaddai will return, and Eve will rise again to rid the world of the dark god and his minions once and for all, bringing her light to the dark world.’” Sara lowered the scroll and let out a long breath. “That’s it. That’s all it says.”

Kyle sighed. “It’s just a story, that’s all. If there were any truth to it, we would have at least heard of this Eve. Besides, we’re still prisoners of the Horde, locked up in this cell.”

Sara was only half-listening to her companion. Something about the story of Eve resonated deep within her. She felt certain it was more than a story. Eve had been real, and that meant El-Shaddai and his minions could be defeated. She was sure of it.

“You said this scroll is true?” Sara waited for the old man’s response, but none came. “Master Yarna?”

“Quiet, girl,” hissed a voice from beyond the door. The voice was undoubtedly male, and just as undoubtedly not Master Yarna’s.

“Who is that? Who’s there?” A click resounded from the lock, and the door swung outward. She was immediately attacked, though not quite as she expected—the lithe form of Dana jumped on her and smothered her in a tight hug.

“I thought I’d never see you again.”

Sara returned her friend’s hug. “What happened to you? Where did you go?”

Before the girl could answer, Ryan slipped into the cell and wrapped his long arms around both girls. “Well, it looks like we’re all back together,” Ryan said. He saw Kyle standing off to the side. “Kyle? How did you get here?”

“Long story.”

Sara pulled away from her friends. She could tell by the tone of Kyle’s voice that something was wrong, but her exhilaration at the sight of her friends pushed it from her mind. “How did you find us?” she asked, turning to Ryan.

“We didn’t find you,” he said. “He found us.” Ryan pointed back at the door with his thumb. Sara gasped as a new figure emerged from beyond the door.

“Master Eleazar!”

“Keep the noise down. You’ll bring the whole of the Horde down on us, ya will. We ain’t got time to be lollygagging around here. I’ve done checked the catacombs and found the way out, but ya got to be quiet now.”

Sara nodded, lowering her voice to a whisper. “But what are you doing here?”

Master Eleazar’s face grew stern. His gaze fell to the floor. “The Keep has fallen. Wasn’t nothing more could be done but flee. Felt the coward doing so, I can tell ya, but I knowed you was here, and that you was now our only hope.”

Sara shook her head, confused. “Only hope? What do you mean? What can we do?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Master Yarna said from across the hall, his gravelly voice cracking. “You’re going to find the witch. You’re going to find Eve.”

T
hat evening, Tiny called a council of his inner circle
.
The council consisted of Tiny and Josiah, as well as two other Rebels—a quiet man, who went by the name Scribe, and the woman Burke had first seen at the bonfire, Raquel. Scribe was the gang recorder. He kept track of all that the Rebels did, documenting their daily routine and their adventures for future reference. Burke found himself astonished at the cohesive structure of the Lord’s Rebels. There was much more to them than he had expected of such a rough-looking group.

Raquel’s part within the inner circle was less obvious. That she was beautiful no one would argue. But there was more to her than that. She wielded power. Burke watched the woman as she leaned her tall athletic form against the far wall. Her long black hair hung over her face, covering one eye and giving her an air of nonchalance. Burke wasn’t fooled. Her intelligent brown eyes caught everything that went on around her.