When light comes

Part 25

      The stench around Saluu was enough to choke the life out of him. He had shape-shifted back into his human form and was kneeling fearfully before his master in the Ceremonial cave on Kuna mountain.
     Ethjab had been informed of all the going ons by one of his goons. And now, he was here, silently brooding on his throne.

"How could you let him escape you fool ?"  the demon spat out in disgust.

Saluu was speechless. He dared not look up at his angry master. The demon hated failure in any way. And the high priest knew the consequences of any failure.

"Oh!..so cat's caught your tongue, has it, ..you Pig!", Ethjab lashed out as he stood from his sit.
"You will pay dearly for this blunder Saluu, ..loyal or not,"  Ethjab's voice trailed off into a whisper as he stepped over the kneeling priest.

The demon stood menacingly at the entrance of the large cave, his bulky frame blocking the morning light from entering in, he unfolded his massive bat-like wings from his scaly back, and without another word, he dived head first towards the bottom of the  mountain, leathery wings gliding silently against the wind. Half of his minions followed from behind, as the remaining, hovered around the mountains.

Ethjab sensed the boy's aura, but it was quite faint,..shielded of course. It was obvious the holy sons of  the FATHER were at work here. He needed this particular vessel back, the glory on the boy was great and the Supreme one's kingdom would be greatly enhanced by it.
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Zebu and Lila had spent a whole day sleeping in the small cave at the bottom of Kuna mountain.
At dawn the next day, the lad had woken up to the little girl's screams . For almost an hour, Lila kept crying for her mother. Zebu had calmed her down and promised to return her home .

How they arrived inside the cave was still a mystery , but he soon dismissed his non recollection to tiredness. Climbing down the mountain had taken longer than he had hoped because of the child he had strapped behind him.

Despite all the questions Zebu asked her, Lila didn't know where she lived,..didn't know her parents' names, but simply called them daddy and mummy.

As the first sun rays filtering into the cave, Zebu pulled the little girl up from the rocky floor and asked her if she could walk . Lila nodded in affirmation and within a few minutes, Zebu walked cautiously out of the cave with Lila's hand firmly in his.

Jerub and Arimel moved swiftly, covering their human charges with their mighty wings, rendering them invisible to the eyes of the evil hoard flying around the mountains.

The two sentinels had been sent ahead to get a small regiment of the Holy Army ready for battle. The guardians sensed their enemy. They were planning to attack before the lad made it to the Community Church.

Zebu moved with purpose, not slowing down as he ran through a familiar thicket with the small girl in tow. They had not eaten since the night of their escape and were ravenous.
The lad suddenly stopped and glanced around his surroundings. The last time he came through this parts, he had come upon a mango tree.
He knew that by this time of the year,late November, the branches would definitely be weighed down with ripe mangoes,..ready for the plucking .

      And like a miracle, almost sixty yards away, was the tree.

" Thank you Jesus", Zebu shouted, relieved that he had not missed the way to their only source of food for miles to come.

Zebu grabbed the exhausted girl by the hand, urgently pulling her towards the tree. On seeing the ripe mangoes ahead , Lila too, leapt for joy, skipping beside her new friend.

Almost an hour later, the two sat against the mango tree, bellies full of the sweet fruit .          

Lazily, Zebu tried to ask the little girl about one of Saluu's thugs who had brought her up the mountain to the cave. She had referred to him as Uncle Tombo.

"My washer man" said the little girl excitedly, " he gives me sweets and biscuits".

Zebu felt sad hearing this. The little girl trusted her parents' Washerman so much that he was able to lure her out of her home . What a heartless man. Knowing the horrible death that awaited the poor child, ..yet stealing her away and leaving her parents distraught.

'No matter what..,'  Zebu thought to himself as he got up from the grass to continue the journey to Darinwa town with Lila, ' he was going to make sure Saluu's thugs were caught, and if possible, ..Saluu himself'.

As Lila got up, she peered behind her as if someone was there, then glanced up at Zebu.
The lad noticed a curious smile on the little girl's face and wandered what was going on in that little mind of hers.
" What's making you to smile, little one?," asked Zebu laughing out himself.

But what she said next, froze him to the spot were he stood.

" The Uncle in white said I should pray now" Lila said sweetly.

" Which Uncle,?" Zebu countered uneasily, his voice shaky and afraid, as he looked all around them.

" Uncle at the back na," replied the little girl. And before Zebu could ask more questions, Lila began to sing the prayer poem she and her classmates recited eight a.m everyday at the beginning of school.

    "Jesus loves me this I know. For the bible tells me so
    Little ones to him belong, they are weak but HE is
Strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes , Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so".

Zebu looked on tenderly as the little girl ended her song. Happily she walked towards him and held his hand as she made a declaration, " Jesus is Lord!".

This was what Lila and her kindergarten mates repeated after Miss Clementine, every morning after marching into the classroom.

"Say it too Zi! "Lila shouted , pronouncing his name the only way she knew how, as she tugged on his dirty shirt.
"Jesus is Lord!" Zebu shouted with joy in his voice, as the mountains around echoed it back in return.

He peered down at the little girl, glad to have such innocence with him on this journey. Lila was truly a breath of fresh air, totally different from many people he had encountered in his young life.

"Hop on my back" Zebu said, as he bent down to allow Lila climb on, "we have a long way to go, little one".

   Unknown to the two humans, the child's prayer and their joint declaration had created a force field of protective light around them.

Towards the valley where Darinwa town lay, an  unseen burning fire travelled through the clouds, incinerating evil spirits that had been lying in wait for the lad if he ever made it as far as the entrance to town.

Jerub and Arimel witnessed it all. From down below, they saw green sulfuric smoke, emerging from crevices and corners, where their enemies had lay in ambush.

The prayer of an innocent child had done this, just as Jerub knew it would. He was the one that appeared to Lila, gently prompting her to pray. He reminded her of the prayer poem from school, and it had worked, thank GOD .

Both angels were extremely happy for their charges. Freedom was near. But they also knew the demon was coming and they had to move fast. Jerub wasn't afraid to face Ethjab, but he needed to get the two humans to safety and out of the way.

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                                                           To be continued