THE_REALM_SHIFT Read online

  REVOLUTIONARY ARMADA

  Today was a complete change from the day when Ethan sank the slaver ship. Today, puffs of white clouds hung in a blue sky. The Azure Sea had transformed back into a sapphire jewel.

  Ethan stood upon the deck of the Maelstrom looking out to the horizon where many ships waited for Captain Bonifast to lead them into battle. As they approached the ragtag fleet, which King Stephen had assembled, Ethan noticed none of the other ships matched the Maelstrom in size. There were ships slightly smaller and a few half as big, but the Maelstrom outclassed them all.

  Captain Bonifast and Gideon both stood on the deck in front of Ethan, watching the other ships approach. “Will you disembark to meet with the captains of the other vessels?â€� Gideon asked.

  “There’s no time for such things,â€� Bonifast said. “We’ve still got another day’s travel just to reach the harbor of Emmanuel in time. King Stephen will be waiting for us to give the signal so he can begin his assault.â€�

  “What’s the signal?â€� Ethan asked.

  “Several hundred cannonballs smashing the enemy navy to smithereens while they sit in port!â€� he said with a laugh. “I can’t think of any better signal to start fighting than that; can you?â€�

  Ethan shook his head. “That would do it, I suppose.â€�

  “And once we barrel through the harbor, this old girl is going to start pounding away at the palace, itself, with our specials!â€�

  “But how can you reach the palace from the harbor?â€� Gideon asked.

  “These specials travel farther on less powder and our long barrels will get them there accurately. I’ll be aiming for the back wall on the cliff side overlooking the Azure. That bright white wall will make an easy target for my gunnery crews,â€� Bonifast explained. “Mordred won’t know what hit him!â€�

  It sounded like a decent plan, but neither Gideon nor Ethan was as confident as Captain Bonifast. When demons were a part of the equation, just about anything might happen. Still, they were glad to be aboard the Maelstrom, and after witnessing Bonifast take on the slaver in the middle of a storm, and destroy Mordred’s ammunition depot in Tilley before that, the boys felt they had good reason to trust in the captain’s abilities. No matter what took place in the sea battle, the Maelstrom would be the safest place for them.

  “As I said boys, I don’t have time to stop and go aboard the other ships in the fleet. However,â€� he said to Ethan, “if I could get you to take copies of my attack plan over to the other ships, while we are in transit, then we could coordinate and still make up for lost time.â€�

  “I suppose I could do it,â€� Ethan said with a slight bit of hesitation. He waited to see if Gideon had any objections. The priest said nothing.

  “That’s grand, lads. Wait a moment and I’ll retrieve the documents from my cabin,â€� he said, hurrying off to get them.

  Gideon waited until Captain Bonifast was gone and then he spoke up. “Ethan, I would like for you to do something else while you’re away to the other ships, if you don’t mind.â€�

  “What is it?â€�

  “I’m still concerned about King Stephen hiring mercenaries to fight in this armada against Mordred. While you’re gone, just keep an eye out for spiritual activity aboard the others ships.â€�

  “Especially the mercenary vessels?â€� Ethan asked.

  “Exactly. We don’t want to let our guard down with the enemy. Above all things, they’re cunning. Cunning can outmatch brute strength any day.â€�

  Captain Bonifast returned quickly with a leather satchel full of the parchments containing his coordinated attack plan for the fleet. He handed them over to Ethan. “Here you go, lad. I appreciate it very much.â€�

  “Don’t you think the other ship captains will want to know why Ethan has appeared out of thin air to give them your plans?â€� Gideon asked.

  “Possibly,â€� Bonifast admitted, “but don’t bother giving them an excuse. Say only that you are a servant of the Lord bearing the attack plans for the fleet from Captain Bonifast.â€�

  “They’ll think he’s an angel,â€� Gideon said.

  “Probably, but then they’ll be too afraid to ask anymore questions,â€� Bonifast said with a mischievous grin on his face. “And they might just fight better if they think this battle is blessed of God.â€� Somehow, Bonifast always made his outrageous shenanigans seem perfectly logical.

  Bonifast and Gideon watched as Ethan disappeared. There was no flash, no twinkle, or specks of light, and no sound. He was simply there with them one moment and the next he was gone.

  Ethan noticed the astonished look on Captain Bonifast’s face as he became invisible to them. The captain had not actually seen Ethan perform the realm shift. Gideon, on the other hand, was not surprised by it anymore. At least he didn’t show it.

  Once again, Ethan stood in his mercury armor, his sword hovering at his side. He was mildly surprised to find the leather satchel had survived the shift and was still with him. He opened the flap and found the parchments. Good thing, he thought. I didn’t actually think about whether they could be carried over with me.

  The Maelstrom sailed through the large convoy of ships, easily standing out among them all. Each ship, in turn, adjusted its course to come in with the Maelstrom in a loose formation befitting a fighting force. There were twenty-one ships in all, not counting the Maelstrom and they all looked formidable. Still, the navy Mordred now controlled had the ability to crush them if given the chance. If Bonifast did not surprise Mordred’s fleet, then this ragtag armada would never leave the harbor.

  Ethan remembered his previous experience jumping from the deck of this ship to the slaver ship. He thought about his lesson with the little bird the Almighty had sent in answer to his prayer for instruction, laughing to himself—a simple lesson, but with such understated purpose. It reminded him of a still small voice speaking to him.

  Ethan concentrated on the task, placing the leather satchel over his head, resting it on his left shoulder across his chest diagonally. Captain Bonifast and Gideon were already watching the other ships nearby. Bonifast raised his brass spyglass, sweeping their decks for his appearance.

  Ethan stepped up to the railing of the Maelstrom. With his next step, he sprang away from the old sailing ship, out over the blue waters of Azure Sea. Ethan swept over the two hundred yards of calm blue toward his target. He touched down precisely with the leather satchel still safely resting at his right hip, his sword ever hovering obediently at his left. He spotted a man with a tricorn hat, whom he presumed must be the captain of this slightly smaller vessel. Ethan approached him.

  The man talked with his helmsmen in nautical terms. These eluded Ethan, not having been aboard a ship long enough to be privy to such things. He held a metal instrument to his right eye and pointed it forward. He appeared to be gauging his calculations by the sun.

  Ethan walked up to the captain and stood behind him, before making himself visible. As soon as he appeared in the physical world, now wearing his regular clothing again, Ethan spoke right up. “Captain?â€�

  The man turned around. He did not seem startled. “Are you a member of this crew?â€� he asked.

  “No, sir. I bring you news of Captain Bonifast’s battle plans. He has dispatched me with this document to be entrusted to the captain of this vessel.â€� Ethan removed one of Bonifast’s scrolls from the leather satchel, handing it ceremoniously to the captain. He tried to appear important, but the captain didn’t appear impressed.

  He gave Ethan a slightly annoyed look as he took the document and started to unroll it. The captain looked the plan over, then rolled it back up. “Yes, yes, this all seems rudimentary enough.
� Then without another word to Ethan, the captain turned back around, returning to his calculations.

  Ethan stood there for a moment longer, wondering if he had been dismissed. With neither the captain nor the helmsmen giving him any further attention, Ethan shifted back to the spiritual plane and went to the rail, searching for his next target. He found it to the port side of this ship and slightly to the rear. It was a smaller ship. He gave another glance at the rude captain, then decided it was time to go.

  SOWING DISCONTENT

  Ethan leaped away from the deck as he had before. He concentrated on where he intended to land. After a quick flight through the vacuum of the spiritual plane, Ethan landed on the deck of the smaller ship. Once again, he searched for the man with the captain’s tricorn.

  This time, the captain was talking with a crewmember while drinking a cup of tea. He was an older man than Captain Bonifast—perhaps twenty years older. He wore a powdered wig and looked tired. He sat impatiently while a younger man, standing next to him, attended to his needs.

  After the rude greeting he had received on the previous ship, Ethan wanted to have a bit of fun with this one. He decided to test Gideon’s angel-assumption theory. He walked up to where the captain was drinking his tea and stood before him.

  This time, when Ethan appeared out of thin air, the captain noticed him immediately. In fact, it was so immediate the poor man shouted with surprise and spilt hot tea all over the front of his uniform. Ethan smiled, attempting to suppress his laughter. That’s more like it, he thought. Then a pang of guilt washed over him for using the special gifts he had been given by Shaddai in such a juvenile way.

  “Begging your pardon, Captain sir,â€� he said.

  “My goodness, young man, where in the devil did you come from?â€� the captain asked.

  “Nowhere in the Devil, sir,â€� Ethan replied. “I am sent as Shaddai’s messenger on behalf of Captain Bonifast of the Maelstrom. I bring you the battle plan he has laid out for the assault on the Bay of Emmanuel.â€�

  Ethan opened the satchel, producing another rolled parchment. He handed it to the captain. The man looked aghast at Ethan, accepting the document without realizing he had extended his hand for it. He could not take his eyes from the boy, nor overcome his initial astonishment with his arrival from the ether.

  “I say, boy, are you a spirit?â€� the captain asked. His servant looked equally stupefied. The teakettle in his hand shook noticeably.

  “Read the document, Captain,â€� Ethan insisted, carefully avoiding any explanation of his appearance. “We must do everything possible to break Mordred’s power over this kingdom.â€� Having issued the charge, Ethan disappeared from the man’s sight again.

  The captain might have spilt his cup again had it not already been emptied on his lap. Ethan felt sorry for the man and a little guilty for his own behavior. The captain already looked haggard by his years of service in the navy, appearing eager for retirement, if only he could manage to get to that point in his life, safely.

  Ethan watched the captain a moment longer as his servant assisted him in cleaning up. Then he turned to the starboard side of the ship for his next delivery. This next ship was slightly larger than the one he stood upon presently. It followed almost directly behind the Maelstrom.

  Ethan found his mark and leaped away from the deck. When he came down on the deck of the other ship, he found it different from the previous two. This ship’s crew looked like pirates. Ethan wondered if they might be some of the mercenaries Captain Bonifast had told him about.

  Ethan found the captain of the ship bellowing orders to his gunnery crew and standing next to another man who may have been his first mate. The captain spoke again, this time about Captain Bonifast.

  “That braggart, Bonifast, with his royal commission—he really thinks he’s something special now that he’s on Stephen’s payroll. He probably thinks he’s the stinking admiral of this convoy.â€�

  Ethan felt like doing a quick face-to-face appearance for this captain. He only wished the man had a cup of tea in his hand. He reached into the leather satchel for a battle plan just as the unkempt captain said, “His head has gotten so big, I’m surprised he hasn’t insisted on laying out the entire attack plan himself!â€�

  Ethan pulled out the parchment and looked at it. He could not escape the irony of the delivery he was about to make. Ethan became visible to the men. They were just as startled by his sudden appearance as the previous captain had been—only no spilling. “I’ve come as the messenger of Shaddai on behalf of Captain Bonifast. You are required to execute the captain’s strategy for the coming battle to the letter,â€� Ethan said with an air of authority.

  The captain took the parchment and looked at it. “Do you understand your instructions, Captain?â€� The first mate looked at the captain as he nodded—his wide eyes never leaving Ethan. “Very good, see that you do,â€� Ethan said, then he disappeared again.

  The men immediately broke into a frenzied discussion about the boy who had just appeared and disappeared. They were attempting to figure out if he was an angel or devil and why such a being would bring them battle plans from Levi Bonifast. Ethan looked toward the next ship.

  Then a familiar tingling sensation swept over him. Demons! Ethan hid himself, then returned to the physical world. If demons were onboard then they would see him walking on the spiritual plane. He had to investigate without being noticed.

  Fortunately, his clothing matched the other sailors. And since many of the crew were young boys, Ethan blended in well. Ethan grabbed a scrub brush and began working on the deck with a bucket of water, keeping his head down. No one questioned him. The tingling sensation grew stronger. He supposed the demon must be coming closer. Then, without a sound, a demon floated over him.

  The demon spoke, but not to him in particular. It spewed out words of hatred for King Stephen and his foolish cause, words of discouragement at being a part of this raid on Mordred’s navy, and words of wounded pride for Captain Bonifast’s command. Ethan heard the words as clearly as any other sound aboard the ship. However, the other men seemed not to notice.

  Ethan raised his eyes. He listened to the crew as they spoke with one another while doing their work. They complained about being on this voyage—that it was certain death to oppose Mordred. Others spoke of King Stephen’s folly and how they owed no allegiance to the man or his war.

  Then Ethan’s realized what was happening. This demon was doing the same thing he had witnessed another demon doing in the council meeting back in Grandee. The demon was sowing doubt, discouragement, hatred, and fear. And those seeds were quickly taking root among this mercenary crew.

  Ethan had to know how many others had been turned from this mission unconsciously. If there was a demon here on this ship, then there may be others doing the same on the other ships.

  Ethan looked for the demon again. It hovered around the captain and his first mate. Ethan realm shifted, dropping through the deck quickly to avoid being seen by the demon. When he got below deck, into a dim hallway, and saw no one else in the vicinity, he appeared in the physical world again. Ethan walked through rooms and hallways on his way below sea level. He passed several crewmembers, but none of them paid him any attention.

  Assuming he had descended far enough, Ethan realm shifted again. He passed through the ship’s hull and into the open sea. Ethan found the next ship and moved toward it.

  Ethan passed through the hull unhindered and came into what appeared to be the galley. He saw that the ship’s cook was the only person present. The man faced away from him, concentrating on his cooking. Ethan passed from the spiritual to the physical world, running toward a flight of steps, then up to the main deck. His leather satchel remained by his side with the parchments.

  As Ethan ascended the fi
nal flight of stairs, he heard the words of discouragement drifting through the air again. He stepped upon the main deck and saw another demon floating among the men who were climbing the rigging. The demon sowed the same seeds of hatred and lies meant to persuade the crew to turn back from the mission.

  Ethan ran for the captain’s quarters, even though the captain himself was on deck near the helm. Ethan removed one of the parchments and wedged it into the door for the captain to find later. He could not afford to appear before the man himself.

  Ethan scrambled back down the stairs and found a secure location to enter the spiritual realm unnoticed. He passed through the hull once again, out into the Azure Sea. Ethan proceeded to visit each of the remaining ships in this fashion. At each one, he left a document from Captain Bonifast wedged in the captain’s door. And each time he came upon a mercenary ship he found a demon at work spreading lies into the unconscious thoughts of the captain and crew. It was time to report to the Maelstrom and give the unpleasant truth to its captain.

  PRAYER

  When Ethan returned to the Maelstrom, the sun already waned in the sky. Dusk had come and, even though the dinner bell was ringing for the crew, Gideon and Captain Bonifast still stood on deck, watching and waiting for Ethan to return.

  When Ethan landed on the deck of the Maelstrom, stepping back into the physical realm, there was a warm welcome waiting for him from his two new friends.

  “Ethan, my boy, you’re safe!â€� Bonifast said. He took the leather satchel Ethan proffered. “And you’ve completed the task!â€�

  Gideon smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

  “I gave them all out, but I bring bad news from the fleet. I’ve seen some discouraging activity among the other ships, particularly the mercenary ships,â€� Ethan said.