Chapter 16
Lindsey blinked as she and the others slipped out the door leading into the great throne room of Daran for two reasons: one, because she had grown used to the dimness of the cell, and the throne room was much more brightly lit (it looked a lot like the Lincoln Memorial). The second reason was it was full of people. And no one had been expecting that.
Tristan gasped, and they all immediately flattened against the wall, trying to remain unseen. However, everyone seemed to be looking in one direction, the throne. Or rather, the platform that the throne was on.
There were a whole bunch of tall people in the crowd, making it impossible for even Ben and Tristan to see what was going on. They pushed through the multitude, trying to get closer.
In all the bustle, Kaela and Lindsey got separated from the boys. To avoid being separated from each other too, Kaela grabbed her cousin's hand. When she looked up, she gasped.
Without realizing it, the girls had reached the very front of the crowd, and they had a very good view of what was taking place of the platform. Two figures were standing on it. One was Daran. Kaela knew right away, even though she had never seen him before. The evil radiating from him would have tipped her off even if she hadn't even heard of him before.
Her first instinct was to whisper for Lindsey to get behind her. Daran would easily recognize her cousin, but probably not Kaela. Where's Ben? Kaela thought, starting to get nervous. If Daran sees him...
Then something caused Kaela to look harder at the second figure. He was bound, and his white robe had been replaced with some rough, dirty, fabric. He was cuffed and bruised, and someone had mockingly placed a crown of viciously sharp thorns on his head. But she still could immediately tell who it was--Yeshua!
She started violently, and gasped. Yeshua looked her way and saw her. He seemed to smile at her, trying to tell her it would be alright. But it isn't alright! They're going to kill you, Yeshua!
Kaela reached for her sword, ready to pounce on Daran, but something stopped her. Instead, she just stood there, silently watching as Daran smirked at his adversary. Then the evil master spoke.
"Well, we finally meet at last, Yeshua, and it appears you were wrong. I guess you won't be giving me a 'mortal wound' after all. Now I have you tied up, and it's you, not me who must beg for mercy. Will you?"
Yeshua didn't say anything, he merely looked at Daran, who seemed to quail before his steady gaze.
"Don't you understand what I'm saying?" Daran yelled, in a fury over Yeshua's silence. "I'm going to kill you, not the other way around. I won, not you!"
Yeshua was silent.
Finally losing his temper, Daran screamed angrily and shoved Yeshua, hard. He stumbled and fell, lying on the platform. To Kaela's chagrin, the crowd burst into laughter. Behind her, Lindsey gasped. "Why are they doing this?" she whispered into Kaela's ear.
Kaela didn't answer, only felt helpless.
Now Daran was pulling a sword out of it's scabbard, which had been attached to his waist. He held it over Yeshua, who didn't flinch. "Any last words, O king?"
Kaela covered her eyes, but she knew what had just happened by the way the crowd cheered. Daran had just stabbed Yeshua with the sword.
Behind her, Lindsey started sobbing. Daran's triumphant voice rang out above the crowd. "It is finished! The 'great and mighty king' didn't defeat me, after all! Ha, thinks he so powerful!"
The crowd cheered again, and Daran said more, but Kaela didn't pay attention. Ben had just tapped her on the shoulder.
"Kaela, come quick!" he hissed into her ear. "Some guards are after us! They must have noticed our different reactions!"
Kaela forgot Yeshua for a moment and glanced at the crowd. Several Ogre guards were making their way toward them, determidly pushing through the crowd.
"We might want to hurry!" Josh said nervously. His freckles were standing out more than ever, and he was glancing from time to time at the platform where Yeshua's body still was.
Tristan looked like he was in a trance, but he mechanically led the way through the crowd toward the exit. They pushed past the people, who didn't pay any attention to the children.
Ben was looking behind to see if Kaela and Lindsey were still with them when he bumped right into a solid looking man, who had been quietly watching the goings on. "Oh, I beg your--" Ben stopped. It was Hans!
Hans put his fingers to his lips. "Shhh. You must go away, quickly! I saw the Ogres, and all followers will be persecuted once the festivities are over."
Lindsey came up behind Ben, still in shock over what had just happen. "Hans--they killed Yeshua!"
Hans raised his eyebrow. "Lindsey, I am not so sure about that. Remember the prophesy?"
Just then, Tristan and Josh came back to look for the lagging others. "Hurry, guys!" begged Tristan. "The guards have started to cut us off!"
Hans waved them away. "I'll be alright. Now go!"
The children slipped out the exit and scattered. Lindsey ran through the streets of Mahal, wondering in the back of her mind what she was supposed to do now. Even though many people were in the temple celebrating the death of Yeshua, the streets were still crowded.
Lindsey glanced back and saw that two of the Ogres had followed her. They were shoving past the milling people, mindless of whether or not they knocked some merchant's produce to the ground. However, it would have been much wiser to look ahead.
She didn't realize she was in the middle of the busiest street of all until it was almost too late. A horse-drawn wagon was careening down the rough road, and the driver hadn't noticed her yet. To go back was to give herself up to the guards, so Lindsey did the only thing she could do in the circumstance: dart out into the middle of the road--right in front of the wagon.
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There. That's sort of long.
I just got back from piano lessons, and last night we had been visiting a farm, which had goats. I'm wearing the same jeans that I wore at the goat farm. And the same shoes. I wonder, did anyone notice?
Izori
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