Seal of the King (9 page)

David looked at her
and in little more than a whisper said, “Do you mean King David?” She raised her eyebrows, and David said with more force “You can’t be suggesting that I’m him?”

She shook her head “No, dear boy, I’m not. He is with our Lord
. But you have two crucial things in common with him. You are a descendant of the house of David. Your Mother comes from his line.” At the mention of his mother, he felt a pang of pain. Molly went on “And possibly more importantly, you are faithful, and have a pure heart. Do you remember what it says in Isaiah? There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom, and understanding, the spirit of counsel, and might, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the LORD.”

“It tells us, in addition to the coming of
Jesus that, in times of great need, the house of David will rise-up to lead.” She added.

David looked down his face a little flushed
, and said in a low voice, “I don’t think I’m that special.”

Molly clicked her tongue “Your humility is a
lovely quality, but we don’t have time to debate the facts right now. There is one more thing I want you to consider.” David looked up at her again. “Do you remember what the stumbling block was for the Jews? Why they would not accept Jesus as the true Messiah?”

David nodded
, and answered “Yes, it was because they thought the Messiah would be a king, who would lead them in the battle to vanquish their enemies, and restore the glory of the house of David.” He stopped abruptly at his own words.

Molly went on “As I said prophecy is a tricky matter
and is often misinterpreted. Men typically think in worldly terms, and how prophecy applies to them, not necessarily the larger struggle between good and evil, dark and light. That is why this prophecy was not written down, but carried through the ages until it would come to pass. This prophecy speaks of both worlds, not just this one, so only those who know of their existence can understand what it means.”

“What does the prophecy say?”

Molly closed her eyes with a look of reading something that wasn’t there, and said, “When the hour of darkness is at hand, a son of David will be anointed to lead his people, and he will find favor with the Lord. A child of equal measure from the house of Roktah will rise-up to awaken the Lion, and together they will face the Evil One. They will be bound at birth by our Father, separated until the time of fulfillment when they will unite in his cause.” Molly opened her eyes, “You child are from the house of Roktah.” She said looking at Aurora.

Aurora blinked, “Yes
, but there’s something I must show you.” She stood, and hurried from the room. The three of them shared a questioning look. In mere moments, she returned. The small box tied with a string in her hand. She held it out and said, “I was on a mission, to bring this back to our council.” She carefully opened the box and pulled out an aged piece of parchment. “The prophecy WAS written down.” Unrolling it, she took a nervous breath, and swallowed before she read it to them. “When the hour of darkness is at hand, a son of David will be anointed to lead his people, and he will find favor with the Lord. A child of equal measure from the house of Roktah will rise-up to awaken the Lion, and together they will face the Evil One. They will be bound at birth by our Father, separated until the time of fulfillment when they will unite in his cause.” She paused, and said, “But there’s more. Together they will face the evil one, and through their sacrifice both houses can be saved.”

She rolled up the parchment
, and they sat in silence for a moment, then David spoke. “This is all too much. Just yesterday I was a simple farmer, and today you are telling me I’m supposed to face the evil one? You know I love you both with all my heart, and I would do anything for you, I just don’t know what to think, I…”

"Son,"
Gabe said gently placing a hand on his arm “I know this is all difficult to accept, and I had always planned on telling you long before now. I had always hoped to give you time to prepare, but as you know we were denied that opportunity. Now you need to know what we’re up against. The night your mother was taken from us, we were being followed.” David sat up straight eyes wide “You see we weren’t the only ones who thought you were the one in the prophecy. Unfortunately, the Dark One can corrupt even servants, and we were betrayed by someone we trusted. Your mother and I left you here in the hopes of preventing them from finding you. We were traveling to see the man we believed was going to divulge your identity. We had hoped we could bring him back to the light before it was too late. What we didn’t know was that he had already sealed his fate. As soon as we were on the road we realized we were being followed. I tried to lose them, but eventually they forced us off of the road.” You could have heard a pin drop as they sat silent hanging on Gabe’s every word “I was shaken badly when the car hit the tree, but managed to get out, and face them. Unfortunately, there were too many of them, and they overpowered me. They beat me severely, and before I lost consciousness. I could hear your mother’s frantic screams for help. ”He choked slightly on the words” I saw the car burst into flames. I called out desperately for your mother, and they laughed with glee at my anguish over losing her. Then one of them grabbed me, and I was wracked with pain as the demon latched onto my soul. It was unbearable, and I passed out. The next thing I could remember was seeing you looking at me, crying. I wanted to scream, and call out to you, but I was locked in a deadly battle with that beast, and couldn’t muster the strength even to blink.” David, Molly, and Aurora all had tears in their eyes, and Gabe went on, “The loss of your mother, and the constant torment were almost too much for me to bear. If it hadn’t been for you, your strength, you coming to see me every week I just don’t think I could have held on.”

“Dad I… I don’t know what to say. What if I’m not strong enough, what if
... What if I fail?” David said as he looked away feeling ashamed.

“Son, I know you, I know how
remarkable you are. You saved me, not just today, but every day for the past six years. I can only guess that, because they could not see the light in you, they were waiting to see if someone else was the one in the prophecy. They knew about Aurora, too. That’s why they went to take her, and killed her parents. Make no mistake David; I would give anything to lift this burden from you. But what they did to me, what they did to you, Aurora, and her parents, and what they did to your mother is nothing compared to what they will do if we fail.” Gabe finished, tears in his eyes now, too.

David sat quietly for a moment considering what his father said as Aurora held his hand tightly to let him know she was with him. From somewhere deep inside him or from outside him, he wasn’t sure
, he felt his courage swell. He sat up with a look of determination, and said, “We won’t fail.” They all looked at him and nodded. His resolve was unshakable.

“We best get out to the others then
, and you, Gabe, have one last dose to take.” Molly said. Gabe grimaced but didn’t argue.

“I’d like a moment alone with you, Aurora, please. Allow me to help my father into the other room first.” David said. Aurora gave him a small smile
, and a nod indicating her agreement. David went over to his father who was pursing his lips after having finished the last of the elixir.

“That is some
nasty tasting stuff.”

“Here, Dad, let me help you up.” David put his father’s arm around his shoulder
and helped him up to his feet. He was again struck by how thin he was. It pained him that his father, who had been such a strong man, could be so frail now.

“Don’t worry, son
,” Gabe said as if sensing David’s mood “I’m going to be alright.”

David
said earnestly, “Dad, I can’t tell you how much I missed you. Please, as soon as we can, there are some other things I want to ask you.”

Gabe stopping reached around with his other arm
, and David pulled him into a tight embrace. Speaking softly into David’s ear Gabe said, “I love you so much, and I can’t tell you how proud I’m of the man you’ve become.” Then he said, as if he was reading David’s thoughts “Don’t be afraid, I have faith in you.” With that, his father patted him on the back, and in silence they turned, and made their way into the living room.

David was surprised to see so many people there. Some he knew
, and others he didn’t. Helping his father into an armchair that would support him, he turned and said, “Excuse me I’ll be back in a minute.”

David stood in the doorway of his parent’s room looking at Aurora
, who was lost in thought again gazing at the photo of him and his parents. Just seeing her standing there warmed his heart. She was so beautiful and strong, and in spite of all she had been through, she was still full of life. The pain of her loss and the horrors she had seen had not damaged her spirit. He wanted nothing more than to tell her it was all over, and they could stay here where it was safe. He could have sat there soaking her in for hours, but he didn’t have that choice.

“Hi” he said
, and she was startled a bit.

“I didn’t hear you come back.” She replied looking at him a bit flustered.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.” He walked over to her and took the frame setting it down on the dresser. He reached out and took her hands gently in his. “Are you alright?” He asked, “I know it must have been difficult for you, recounting what happened, especially to your parents.” He said kindly.

She looked down at their clasped hands. What was it about him
, that affected her so, she wondered. It was as if he could see inside her. All these years she had taught herself to be strong, to lock her weaknesses away, and yet he exposed them with no effort at all. "I'm afraid, and ashamed," she said. He lifted a hand to her chin, and gently raised her face to look up into his eyes. He placed his warm hand on her cheek, his fingers gently touching the side of her neck, and his thumb wiped the tear running down her face.

“Why” he asked tenderly. Her emotions were welling up inside her, threatening to overtake her. She had bottled up her feelings for so long to protect herself, so she could be strong in the face of so much danger. She had never known anyone she felt safe enough with to let them out
, and now they were rising up against her will. It was madness that, after spending so little time together, she felt she could trust him, and in truth she had no choice because she could not contain them any longer.

She
said, “I didn’t tell the whole story before. The day my parents died there was something else.” He waited patiently not rushing her “The day the soldiers came my parents made me hide inside a wardrobe with a fake back. I could see what was going on through a small hole, and I could hear everything. Before I got in there, they made me promise that no matter what happened I was to stay hidden. They made me swear it.” She added as if pleading with him, to understand. “When the soldiers burst into our home, the first thing they asked was where I was. My parents lied, and said I had left the day before. Enraged, the commander hit my father hard across his face with a club. I could hear his bone crack, and saw blood burst from his mouth. My mother was screaming, begging them not to hurt him. But still my father kept saying I had left. The commander motioned to one of the other soldiers, and he grabbed my mother putting a knife to her throat. He said he would kill my mother if my father didn’t tell him where I was. And when my father said he didn’t know, the soldier slit her throat, and she dropped to the floor choking on her own blood. As she lay there dying my father wailed a horrible scream of pain. Then the commander grabbed his hair, pulled his head up, and drove a short sword into his heart.” Aurora was sobbing now, David put his arms around her, and pulled her close. She grabbed onto him holding him tight, feeling as if she let go the pain would overwhelm her.

He placed his hand on her head for comfort “it’s not your fault” he said trying to comfort her. She heaved a
n enormous sob and looked up at him, the pain on the verge of tearing her apart.

“Yes it is
. All they wanted was me. I stood there frozen in fear. I could’ve come out and let them take me.”

David looked into her eyes
, and in a firm voice said, “No” She was startled by his commanding tone, “they would have killed them anyway. If they had gotten you as well, your parent’s sacrifice would have been for nothing. They thought that you were the one mentioned in the prophecy, so they probably would have just killed you too. Instead, you have honored your parents with your life. You have taken their gift, and used it to help others, and to fight against the evil that made them suffer.”

She blinked she knew he was right
, but having relived it was like a fresh wound, that simple statement of fact did little to ease the pain she was feeling. She pressed her head against his chest as he continued to hold her. She could feel his warmth radiating through her. After several long minutes, her breathing slowed, and when she regained her composure enough to speak, she said, “The prophecy”.

David still stroking her head
, and holding her close asked gently, “What about the prophecy?”

Aurora took a steadying breath then
said, “It says our sacrifice will save our people. What if when the time comes I don’t have the strength to do what must be done?”