A Warrior's Legacy (26 page)

Raya and her wolf had been ahead of me and
they didn’t see me jump off. The big wolf came to a halt and turned
back to me.

“Go on!”

But he didn’t move. There was a deafening
screech as the Zarlons arrived. I had been right it would seem.
They were like monkeys. They came streaming into the cavern. Not by
the hundreds, but by the thousands.

Some ran along the ground others ran along
the cavern walls while smaller ones ran upside down across the
cavern ceiling and within moments we were surrounded by the
snarling horde.

Raya jumped off her wolf when it came to a
stop in front of Malchiesha. She looked back and saw Zevin in the
midst of the horde and screamed, “What is he doing?”

Malchiesha responded grimly, “Saving us
all!”

Raya started forward, but Malchiesha grabbed
her arm stopping her, “We would never reach him in time. Let us see
what his God will do for him so that we might also believe.”

I wish father was here. Instead I was alone
except for one loyal wolf.

“You’re never alone Zevin.”

Came back the firm response from within me
that shamed me for my lack of faith.

“I’m sorry! I know you’re there. Creator
please help me I’m in a tight spot here and I want to live to see
tomorrow, but that doesn’t look like one of the options I have
before me. You can make it so and I pray that You would!”

As I finished I rammed the point of the
glowing sword into the rocky floor of the cavern and prepared to
see what my Creator would do on my behalf. I reached out and
grabbed a handful of the wolves’ fur and pulled him closer to me
and then I closed my eyes waiting to see and feel what would happen
hoping that something miraculous would occur even as I knew it
could.

The bands of the soft glowing trinial rock
columns flickered and then began to pulse brighter. “Lanorian’s so
that you might know that I Am the great I Am and that I Am Lord in
this place as I Am Lord of all My creation watch my faithful
servant as I give him power over My creation to destroy your
enemies.”

Not a Lanorian remained standing. Their
hearts threatening to stop and their souls quivering within they
obeyed the voice that was all authority and power. From their knees
they watched as the glowing of the surrounding trinial element
intensified.

A pervasive hum rebounded within the cavern
and the zarlons looked around in alarm at the unusual course of
events. And then abruptly everything went dark and silent except
for the sounds of the zarlons.

This they were used to this and they howled
in victory and closed in for the kill. Raya saw Zevin’s sword light
up as it usually did, but even more so than usual. There was a
snapping in the air and then the entire cavern was lit up by
charged bolts of blue energy that shot out from the walls and the
sword in a deadly maelstrom of electric blue fury.

The zarlons screeched in terror and made as
if to run away, but the bolts of light glowing energy shot through
them as accurately as Zevin’s arrows had earlier. Within moments
every zarlon lay dead on the cavern floor not even one of them had
escaped. Steam rose off the mortal wounds where the superhot energy
bolts had entered and exited.

The glow of the surrounding trinial returned
to normal and the Lanorians fell with their faces pressed to the
ground praising the Great Creator, as if their lives depended on
it.

I looked around at the fallen enemy and
wondered not for the first time why the Creator seemed to favor me
so much. I didn’t deserve it, but I sure was grateful for it.

The big wolf by my side surveyed the scene
keenly and then put his head back and howled a long series of
alternating howls that echoed around the cavern and down its many
open passageways. Before long I saw wolves and even some giant cave
bears come lumbering out of the openings into the cavern.

Amazingly they had not come to feed, but
instead they would grab onto a carcass and start dragging it from
the cavern into the surrounding byways to who knows where. I was
grateful for the housekeeping assistance otherwise it would have
been a big mess to clean up. The Creator thought of everything.

I made my way toward the far side of the
cavern where I saw that the Lanorians had gathered. The big wolf
fell along behind me as we made our way over the littered remains
of the once voracious scourge of these lands. I had a feeling the
big wolf was going to be a permanent fixture of my life from now
on. Relentless would be jealous, but he would get over it.

I made my way up the far incline and was
surprised to see Raya running down it towards me. Concern arose in
me at her haste, “What’s wrong Raya?”

I wasn’t prepared for when she slammed into
me wrapping her arms around me as she did so. Fighting to keep my
balance I asked again, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” I heard her mumble against my
chest.

I was soon enveloped by a mob of crying
people whispering their gratitude. They had been in a bitter fight
for survival against the zarlons for their entire existence
underground and to now be free of them was a blessing from heaven
to them.

All the rest of that day I spoke of the
Creator, His word and how He had impacted my life and others whom I
knew. The Creator’s Spirit led me as to what to say, and how to say
it. I read passages of the Holy Scriptures to them from what I had
brought with me and I tried to answer all the questions for there
were many, because the Lanorians wanted to know everything.

A long time later my voice almost completely
gone I sat on the edge of Raya’s stone bed in a deeply satisfied
and humbled state of mind. The Creator had used me to bring
repentance and salvation to an entire nation!

I could still hear them praising, crying,
and speaking of the Creator’s Spirit, as they each worked out their
new found faith and personal relationships with their Creator.

The Spirit of the Creator was so heavy upon
this underground cavern world that it felt like a warm river
flowing through the air. I had never experienced anything quite
like it before. Not to this degree anyway. I would still be out
there, but Raya had dragged me away.

“Here drink this it will help your
throat.”

I did as she asked loving the special
attention from her. It was good stuff! I set the cup aside and made
to get up, but she pushed me back down.

“Raya I need to get back out there I’m only
a little tired.”

She held up one finger and said, “Do not lie
it is a sin! The truth is that you are very tired and you need your
rest. You have been talking for over one day and a half’s time.
Being an uplander you do not mark the passage of time underground
as you did when you had the sun to govern your actions. Besides is
not the Spirit of the Creator able to continue instructing the
people without your presence being needed?”

Okay she had me there. “You were listening
it would seem.”

“To every word!”

“I just want to be out there and experience
what’s happening.” I mumbled out hoarsely.

“You are a part of what’s happening out
there. You are the people’s leader. How does it serve the people
well if their leader is not properly rested enough to meet the next
day’s challenges? Now lay back and rest my husband!”

“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a
little bossy?” I said liking the sound of the word ‘husband’ coming
from off her lips.

“Yes, many times now lie back.”

She covered me with the blankets and
intrigued by her motherly actions I said, “You forgot
something.”

“What?” She asked surprised.

“My good night kiss.”

I really wasn’t expecting it, but I got one.
Her kiss had me wanting a lot more than sleep could offer and I
reached for her, but she pushed me down with a smile and left the
room.

Raya paused outside the doorway and sunk to
the ground with her back against the stone wall of her simple
dwelling. Tears coursed down her cheeks and she brushed them away
and looked up towards the cavern ceiling as if she could see the
stars beyond.

Somewhere up there was heaven, “Thank you!”
She said softly.

She sat there for close to an hour
reflecting on everything that had happened and her skin prickled
again even as her newfound connection with the Creator’s Spirit
warmed within her as she reflected on the wonder of it all.

Her thoughts went down a different path and
a luminescent blush lightened her features as she remembered how
passionately she had kissed Zevin good night. She reached a finger
up and felt her lips, when had an idle fancy for an uplander turned
into something much more?

Tomorrow was going to be scary, but it would
be wonderful too. She got up and went inside. The stillness of the
room was disrupted by his snores. She didn’t mind strange enough,
which was odd because she had never cared to hear men snore
before.

Enjoying life often came down to the simple
everyday pleasures and for her being warm and having companionship
were pleasures long denied her. She gave a gratefully hushed moan
of delight, as she slid in alongside of Zevin and basked in the
heat that radiated off of him. Tentatively she lay one arm and leg
across him, but he didn’t stir. She relaxed her head down on his
shoulder and smiled as she studied the contours of his face. The
thought of tomorrow helped make her warm too.

I opened my eyes and I could tell that it
was morning. Strangely enough whatever the unique properties of the
trinial were they followed the daily brightness cycle of the sun at
least partially.

Contrary to what Raya thought I did know how
to tell time in Lanoria. The trinial was brightest at noon and then
it got progressively dimmer until the late night, when it would
then start to get brighter. There may be no seasons underground,
but there was the evidence of the passage of time uniquely supplied
by the Creator.

My thoughts of how time was measured in
Lanoria ended as Raya entered the room. To say I did a double take
was an understatement. She was dressed as she had been when I had
come upon her at the bog when her horse was stuck.

Gone was the woolen over dress. The halter
top that her chest was encased in looked less worn and instead of
the tight leather pants she wore and equally tight short leather
dress. I had to be dreaming!

“Good morning Zevin.” She said, as if she
really meant it right before she bent down right in front of
me.

I stopped breathing for a moment.

“I brought you breakfast.”

Shocked my glazed eyes found their way up
from her chest to her carefully composed serene features. She had
to be kidding!

Her face was serene, but her eyes were
laughing at me and she nodded indicating my lap with her eyes and
dumbly I looked down. At some point she had placed a bowl that
contained something that steam was lifting off of into my hands. It
felt hot.

Actually it was really hot and it was
burning the palms of my hands where it sat on them. I shifted my
hands to the side and then I realized with a start that this wasn’t
a dream, because I could feel pain!

She had straightened and had been saying
something to me. Embarrassed I looked up trying to not get
sidetracked along the way. Was it just me or did her navel seem to
glow slightly?

I met her eyes and stuttered out, “Sorry
what were you saying?”

She smiled wide and said, “I asked you if
you had any plans for us today.”

I swallowed my mind completely blank as to
what I had been supposed to do today, “I’m not sure. Why?”

“I wondered if I might suggest a course of
action?” She fairly purred out.

“Sure what is it?” I said thickly.

“After you eat your breakfast and you deal
with the affairs of your kingdom I wondered if you would like to
meet me back here and then we could go sightseeing again.”

Sightseeing?

I had already been sightseeing ever since
she’d come in here. Guiltily my eyes glanced back up and I choked
out, “Yeah that would be great!”

She smiled then looking extremely satisfied
with herself and turned to leave. Dim sounding alarm bells went off
in my consciousness. Was I being taken advantage of again in some
way?

“There isn’t going to be a horde of vicious
hungry animals along for the walk this time is there?”

She twirled around gracefully laughing as
she did so, “Goodness no!”

And then her voice deepened as she pointed
to herself and then at me, “Just me and you.” And then she was gone
out the door leaving me with only the exotic promise of her
words.

If I was being taken advantage of in some
way I didn’t care. I was going to be the most willing victim ever.
There had been something I was supposed to do. What had it been? Oh
yes eat!

I inhaled the bowl of food not caring what
it was or much less what it tasted like. And then I was headed out
to wrap up the business of the kingdom in record fashion or so I
hoped anyway.

It was barely an hour later when I reached
Raya’s little dwelling again. Malchiesha had everything well under
control and I was released from duty for the day. Raya was waiting
outside and smiled as I approached.

I looked into her beautiful eyes and smiled
too because I was just so happy to be around her, especially when
she smiled at me like that, “Just let me get my weapons and we’ll
be off.”

But before I could go past her she grabbed
my hand and tugged me toward a trail. “You won’t need any weapons
where we’re going. Come.”

Reluctantly I followed her still not liking
it, but I had come to trust her somewhat since the sword incident.
We made our way through the large cavern and started climbing up
the side wall of it. An old woman was sitting propped up against a
rock busy sewing on a garment of some kind. Raya gave a gracious
greeting to the old woman in her native tongue, which the old woman
responded to in kind.