By the Sword - By Sara Flower Page 0,52
or so useless in all her life.
“I am with you, Talya.”
Talya placed a hand over her heart and smiled as she recalled a comforting verse her mother had read to her when she was small. She recited it aloud.
“But I will sing of your strength. In the morning I will sing of your love, for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”
Talya sighed and sat down, resting her head against the wall.
“You’re a fool if you think your God is going to save you,” said an all too familiar, menacing voice from the shadows.
“Jalarn!”
How did he get into the prison without me hearing him? More of the devil’s spells!
He exhaled and a trail of fire shot out of his mouth.
Talya could only stare.
The fire settled on a torch that was secured to the wall.
“Impressed?” he asked.
“Disturbed.”
“I’ve come to see if you’ve changed your mind,” he said.
“Never.”
Jalarn’s lips moved silently as he stared at her. Was he trying to cast another spell?
Talya stood and glared at him.
“Your country and your devil are for everything I am against! I am not going to join you. No spell is going to change my mind.”
Jalarn shook his head, but his mouth was shut now. They just stared at one another for a few moments.
“Why won’t you listen to me?” he asked. “You could achieve so much.”
“And what exactly would that be? Power? Wealth? Recognition? I used to think that I wanted those things, but the past couple of days have shown me that they don’t really matter. Not in the big picture, anyway. The only thing that does matter in this life is what, or who, we choose to serve.”
“What did you say?”
“If you search your heart, then deep down you will know that power and fame aren’t so important.”
“Those are the only things that matter!” he shouted.
“When you die, they cannot go with you. The real reason we’re here is for us to make a choice. God or the world.”
He paced back and forth.
“I had nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing. Not until I was made commander of a legion. Before that, I was more worthless than a diseased rat. Wealth and power are the only things that get you ahead in this world. Strong men quiver in my presence. I have vaults of gold to my name. Ittonifer’s throne is mine when he dies. I have everything I could ever want. I came from destitution. Believe me, there is nothing worse than poverty.”
He actually sounded human there.
“You have hurt so many on your trip to get to where you are now. My God is all about love and compassion.”
“Take a look at the world around you. See where those two things get people. God allows the very people that serve Him to suffer.”
“It is your devil prince that unleashes his sickness and curses on people. He is the enemy.”
He turned so that his back was to her.
“I didn’t take you to be the sort of female that believed in this emotion-driven rubbish! You seemed so strong, so fearless.”
Talya ignored the prod. She was not going to fall for it.
“If you could be with your mother again, without your title and wealth, would you?” she asked.
Jalarn didn’t answer.
“I understand the pain. I lost my mother when I was young, too. I would give anything to see her again. I miss her,” said Talya.
“No doubt,” he said.
He started to walk back down the hall.
“Don’t you see what you’ve become?”
Jalarn stopped, but he did not reply.
“Do you ever wonder why your so-called ‘prince’ demands that you take the lives of others before he’ll even glance your way?”
“Enough,” Jalarn said. “I will make you see it my way.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“It’s amazing what starvation will do to a person. If that doesn’t do the trick, pain will. Or maybe the life of a loved one.”
With a swish of his scarlet cape, Jalarn was gone.
*****
In a clearing of the thick, weeping willow forest, Tanel admired the full moon. It was eerily cloaked by a layer of wispy clouds. He had ridden with the army for two days, and he had not stopped thinking about Talya. It was a relief to know that she had survived the perilous mission to Hunter Forest. The giants had told them the entire story of how Talya had won them over through telling the story of Jesus’ sacrifice.
Tanel smiled at the thought of her telling them of the Savior. The three giants she had witnessed to couldn’t stop